Thane, Nov 7 (PTI) Three persons including a local RPI functionary died and two injured when their car fell off a bridge onto a moving goods train between Karjat and Panvel railway stations in Maharashtra on early Tuesday morning, police said.

Republican Party of India chief and Union minister Ramdas Athawale sought a probe into the incident.

The accident took place on a bridge near Kinavali between 3.30 am and 4 am as the car was heading for Neral on Mumbai-Panvel road, said an official of Panvel police station.

The deceased were identified as Dharmanand Gaikwad (41) and his cousins Mangesh Jadhav (46) and Niteen Jadhav (48).

Gaikwad was an activist of the Republican Party of India (Athawale group) , the official said.

The freight train was heading from Panvel to Karjat in Raigad district and some of its wagons got decoupled due to the incident, said Dr Shivraj Manaspure, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway (CR).

The Panvel-Karjat section of the CR was closed due to the accident from 3.43 am to 7.32 am, he said.

Only one train -- 17317 Hubballi-Dadar Express -- was diverted through the Karjat-Kalyan route due to the incident, he added.

In a statement released by the RPI, Union minister Athawale condoled the deaths of Gaikwad and others, and also demanded a probe into the accident. PTI COR KK KRK KRK