India, Feb. 4 -- A 20-year-old software engineer from Wadala lost his life while returning from a friend's birthday party on his scooter with a friend riding pillion. The accident occurred on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, in Bhiwandi, when the victim's scooter hit a pothole, causing him to fall and get run over by a truck. Motorists who use the highway regularly say road-widening and other projects have turned it into a death-trap, and there appears no end to the work.

The accident took place on January 19 but the Narpoli police registered a case only on February 2, only after recording the statement of the pillion rider, who survived. They are searching for the truck driver involved in the mishap.

The police report identifies the deceased...