Maharashtra Native, 2 Friends Die In Canada After Their Tesla Car Explodes; His Girlfriend Survives

Digvijay Rajendra Ausarkar, who originally hailed from Nashik along with friends assembled to celebrate the birthday of his girlfriend, Jhalak Patel.

Nashik: A Maharashtra native, who was employed with a reputed firm as a mechanical engineer in Canada, was killed along with his two friends after the newly-bought Tesla car they were riding overturned and exploded on the road in Canada, bringing a tragic end to their post birthday bash on Thursday.

Earlier, Digvijay Rajendra Ausarkar, who originally hailed from Nashik and completed his mechanical engineering education from the US before joining a plum job in Canada, along with friends assembled to celebrate the birthday of his girlfriend, Jhalak Patel.

After a birthday celebration, Rajendra took Jhalak and two others went out for a test drive on a Tesla car bought by one of his friends. During the time, the car suddenly overturned from a dead stop and hit an iron girder on the other side of the road. The car caught fire and within a few minutes, it exploded. Besides Jhalak, Keta Gohli, Neel Gohli, who hailed from Gujarat, died.

Soon after the news of Digvijay's death came, his aggrieved father and sister flew to Toronto from Nashik. At their insistence, Canadian police initiated investigation and identified Digvijay through his DNA.

Digvijay, a successful professional, was offered a good position by a reputed company in Canada, where he settled. Fifteen days ago, his parents met him there. The sudden death of Digvijay, the only son of his parents, before Diwali cast a pall of gloom at his Pune locality.

The relatives were denied visas by the Canadian government. His father Rajendra and sister Swamini's visas had not expired, so they could fly to Canada. Digvijay's cousin Ketan Ausarkar said that the impact of the strained relations between the two countries was being felt at this tragic hour.