Couple die as car hits Pejawar seer's convoy vehicle

A Sunday morning trip to Hoskote turned fatal for an elderly couple from Chintamani as their car collided with a highway patrol vehicle escorting Sri Vishwesha Theertha, the head of the Pejawar Mutt.

Four others, including the couple's daughter-in-law and a police officer, were injured in the accident that occurred at Karapanahalli on the Chintamani highway near Hoskote on the eastern outskirts of Bengaluru around 7.45 am. The seer was on his way to Chintamani to attend a function. He and his staff escaped unhurt.

K L Ramakrishnaiah, 85, the proprietor of SLV Jewellers, his wife Suvarna Sulochana, 80, and daughter-in-law Nalini Kumari, 55, had left their hometown, Bettalahalli, Chintamani taluk, to attend a wedding in Hoskote. Ramakrishnaiah borrowed a friend's car, a Tata Indica, as his regular driver didn't turn up.

Ramakrishnaiah's car and the seer's convoy were moving in the opposite direction. A motorcycle was ahead of the couple's car. Their car driver, Nagendra, 30, tried overtaking the motorcycle but ended up crashing into the highway patrol vehicle. Sulochana died on the spot while Ramakrishnaiah succumbed at a hospital. The crash threw Nagendra out of the car and inflicted injuries on Shambaiah, 51, an assistant sub-inspector, and others in the convoy vehicle. Nataraj, the motorcyclist, was also injured. All the injured were hospitalised.

The crash was so powerful that both vehicles were extensively damaged and the entire road was blocked. The jurisdictional Nandagudi police had to tow off the vehicles to clear the road. They have booked Nagendra for rash and negligent driving following a complaint from Shambaiah. He would be arrested once he is discharged from the hospital.