30 trees uprooted and 28 vehicles crushed

Aurangabad, Oct 6:

A total of 30 trees in and around the old building of Aurangabad family court were uprooted in an instant due to lightning and gusts of wind on Wednesday afternoon. A total of 28 four-wheelers and two-wheelers of lawyers parked in the parking lot were crushed under the trees.

The court parking lot is crowded with lawyers throughout the day. As soon as the rain started, all the lawyers and visitors rushed to the court building. As they rushed back, large trees in the premises fell on the vehicles. By evening, 12 vehicles were removed by cutting the branches. A JCB was also deployed to move the heavy branches. Two-wheelers were literally crushed and four-wheelers were also badly damaged. The cutting of tree branches was in progress until late at night. About 16 vehicles are also stuck under these trees. The exact number of vehicles will be clear only after removing the branches. Police inspector Anil Kankal of Vedantnagar police station and other colleagues conducted the spot panchnama till late night. In the evening, a team of judges visited the spot and inspected the damage. Justice Shripad Tekale gave necessary instructions to the concerned. He was accompanied by registrar Nadeem Ullah Khan, protocol officer Laxmikant Bhale, court officials and staff. The tree cutters said that the fallen trees like Karanj, Gulmohar and Mutrikali are very old. There are still around 150 small trees in this area. The front and rear parking lots of the building are also under thick tree cover. There was a discussion among the lawyers that measures should be taken to avoid such incidents in future.

Close shave for four lawyers

Moments before the incident, adv Vinayak Upadhay, adv Vinod Mundada, adv Sudhir Kulkarni and adv Kalpana Rathore had gone to the back of the building to have tea in Upadhay's vehicle. The tea seller told them to reverse their car. While Upadhay was reversing his vehicle, a large branch of a tree fell on the vehicle. They all got stuck in the vehicle. Fortunately, no one was harmed. PSI Dheeraj Kabaliye and others rushed to their help.