Sangli MLA Sudhir Gadgil suffers minor injury in accident

Kolhapur: An SUV carrying BJP MLA Sudhir Gadgil met with an accident on the Nagpur-Ratnagiri National Highway near Sangli on Saturday evening after a two-wheeler suddenly took a U-turn in front of the vehicle, the police said.The two-wheeler rider, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, was injured and taken to Miraj Civil Hospital in a 108 ambulance for treatment. Gadgil too suffered a minor injury to his finger, and was taken to a private hospital in Sangli, treated, and later discharged.The accident occurred between Vaddi and Krishna Ghat Road while Gadgil was travelling towards Ankali. The police said the collision took place when a two-wheeler abruptly cut across the MLA’s vehicle, leaving little time for the driver to react.Gadgil had earlier travelled to Ugar in Karnataka for an event and was returning to Sangli when the incident took place. The impact triggered the deployment of airbags in the SUV, preventing serious injuries.Gadgil was accompanied by his personal assistant Nagesh Bhokare, bodyguard Amol Kanase, photographer Vikas Gundap, and driver Ganpati Darekar. All four escaped unhurt.Traffic movement on the busy highway was briefly disrupted before National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials and Sangli police reached the spot and restored normalcy.