Soldier home for wife’s delivery dies in accident hours before daughter’s birth in Satara

Kolhapur: An Indian Army soldier, Havildar Pramod Jadhav, died in a road accident in Satara city on Friday night, hours before his wife delivered a baby girl at a private nursing home.Jadhav, who was posted at Leh, Ladakh, had returned a couple of weeks ago to Dare Turf Aare village in Satara district to look after his pregnant wife, Rutuja. On Friday, he got her admitted to a private nursing home in Satara and left in the evening to bring her belongings from home.The police said Jadhav was riding a motorcycle when a mini-truck hit him at Wadegaon Phata in Satara city, under the Shahupuri police station's jurisdiction. He died on the way to the hospital."The jawan was returning to the nursing home in Satara on a bike alone. The mini-truck used to carry vegetables to markets came suddenly in front of him at Wadegaon Phata. Passersby and residents took the jawan to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. We have arrested the driver of the mini-truck and seized the vehicle. The accident occurred around 8.30pm on Friday. Perhaps both the jawan and the driver of the mini-truck were in a rush, and that led to the accident," said inspector Sachin Mhetre, of the Shahupuri police station.Jadhav's relatives and friends decided against informing Rutuja about the accident right away. However, she remained anxious through the night as Jadhav had promised to return and stay with her, and doctors said she might go into labour at any time during the night. On Saturday morning, she delivered a baby girl.Later, she was told about the accident and, along with the few-hours-old baby, was taken to the village ground where preparations were made for the final rites. Rutuja, still on a stretcher, and with nurses and other hospital staff nearby, could not control her emotions. Relatives carried the newborn to her father for a last view.Pramod Jadhav was his parents' only son. His mother had passed away a year ago. He joined the Army in 2014, and got his three sisters married. Jadhav was laid to rest with full military honours.