Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 10 Sep

Tyres of at least three cars were punctured in the early hours of Wednesday after nails were hammered into the Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, police said.

Videos showing the nails neatly embedded in the Mumbai-bound arm of the high-speed carriageway have gone viral on social media.

The nails were found in a 10-20 feet asphalted patch on the carriageway near Daulatabad, a Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) official said.

A team of senior MSRDC officials visited the spot, and they will soon issue a statement on the incident, he said.

Motorists alerted the police around 1am about the sharp metallic objects protruding from the expressway, which runs between Mumbai and Nagpur.

“Our teams rushed to the spot. We are yet to ascertain how many nails were hammered into the road, but tyres of three cars were punctured,” said the official from Daulatabad police station.

The police have called the road contractor, who is responsible for maintaining the stretch, and the persons who stopped motorists at the spot to probe the matter further.

In a viral video, a person says four vehicles were punctured due to nails hammered into the Samruddhi Expressway. “Vehicles travel at 120 km per hour, and the stretch with nails has not been barricaded,” says the person.

In another video, a traveller says their car tyres were punctured, but they did not receive assistance for over three hours despite calling the expressway helpline multiple times.

“I was travelling with a family including three babies. We spent money and sent them ahead,” he claims.