Pune: The Pune Rural police jurisdiction, which recorded 1,093 road accident fatalities in 2023, had the most such deaths among Maharashtra 's 11 commissionerates and 38 district police units last year, data released by the state Criminal Investigation Department ( CID ) has revealed. Overall, the state saw a marginal drop in road deaths — from 15,478 victims in 2022 to 15,434 in 2023. "But the numbers are still high," state CID Chief Prashant Burde told TOI.
"They can be attributed to a combination of factors such as human error and defects with our road infrastructure," he said. Neighbouring Ahmednagar district, with 886 road deaths in 2023, was a distant second among the police jurisdictions with a high number of accident fatalities. Nashik rural police recorded 853 fatalities.
CID officials said they're yet to compile accident data for the ongoing 2024 period. "It should be out by second-half of 2025," an official said. But Pune Rural's numbers offered a sobering assessment of the quality of road infrastructure.
The jurisdiction spans a massive area — from Velhe to Bhor on side to the entire Nagar Road highway on the other. "In fact, eight major highways pass through the district, all with high vehicle movements," said superintendent of police (Pune Rural) Pankaj Deshmukh. "Areas under our jurisdiction are highly industrialised, with rising population.
There are many reasons that contribute to such high fatality figures," he said, attributing some blame on the quality.