PU student dies as his bike collides with LPG lorry

A second-year PUC student died instantly after his motorcycle collided with a lorry laden with LPG cylinders in Kattugollahalli on the main road from Avalahalli to the Kempegowda International Airport in eastern Bengaluru.

Tension gripped the area for a brief time as the two-wheeler's petrol tank started leaking and the lorry caught fire, causing one of the cylinders to blast. It was only later that the police learnt the gas cylinders on the lorry were empty.

Basavaraju, the victim, was on the way to meet his grandmother in Konaginehalli when he met with the accident around 10 am. He was moving from a village sub-road to the main road when the head-on collision with the lorry happened.

His bike's petrol tank started leaking and the lorry ran him over, dragging him for at least 30 feet and causing fatal injuries to his head. The impact caused a spark and the fire spread to the lorry's cabin. "Because of the overheating, one of the gas cylinders exploded, panicking passersby and other commuters who were trying to help while the victim lay dead under the lorry," N Kumar, DySP, Hoskote, said.

The Avalahalli police who were informed about the accident alerted firefighters who rushed to the spot and doused the blaze. The firemen later found out that the gas cylinders on the lorry were empty.

The lorry driver, identified as Somashekar, from Mulbagal, has been arrested and his vehicle seized. Police have booked him for rash and negligent driving causing the death of the biker.