TV actors Rachana, Jeevan killed in grisly accident

Two Kannada television actors were killed and five others wounded when their SUV collided with a stationary canter truck on the northern outskirts of Bengaluru early on Thursday.

Rachana M Gowda (23), who acted in popular serials like 'Madhubala', 'Triveni Sangama' and 'Mahanadi', and her co-actor Jeevan Suresh (25) died in the crash that occurred near the Solur toll gate in Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural district, around 2 am on Thursday.

The actors were part of a seven-member group that left Rajarajeshwari Nagar, where Rachana lived, in a Tata Safari around midnight. The other members of the group were Ranjith B S, Karthik, Honnesh, Eric and Uttham, who all work in the entertainment industry. They were headed for Kukke Subrahmanya temple, Dakshina Kannada district, to offer prayers on Karthik's birthday.

Honnesh was at the wheel. Rachana sat next to him while Jeevan was just behind her. As they reached the Solur toll gate, Honnesh saw an oncoming bus. He tried to avoid the bus but the SUV veered to the left and crashed into the stationary truck.

The SUV's left side was mangled in the crash, killing Rachana and Jeevan. Their bodies were extricated with great difficulty. Passersby called the ambulance and took the five others to the hospital. The jurisdictional Kudur police rushed to the spot and moved the bodies to the taluk hospital in Nelamangala for post-mortem.

Rachana had acted in popular television serials 'Madhubala' and 'Triveni Sangama', and was presently working in 'Mahanadi'. Jeevan, of Ashoknagar police quarters, was a Kannada comedian popularly known as Sujeev.

Police have opened a case and conducting their inquiries.

DH News Service