Two Kerala youths killed in bike-tractor collision

Two young men were killed on the spot after a tractor collided with their bike at Kundana Cross near Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city on Sunday morning.

The deceased have been identified as Aju Raj (23), a hotel management student, and Appu Shaji (23), a taxi driver, both hailing from Kottayam in Kerala and residents of Bengaluru.

According to the police, Raj and Shaji, along with four friends, were riding on three motorcycles towards Nandi Hills to view the sunrise. The four had come from Kottayam to visit Raj and Shaji and also go on a sightseeing  around Bengaluru.

Raj and Shaji had mobile phones with Google Maps fixed on their bike to reach Nandi Hills. When their bike approached Lakshmi Farm from Chapparkal towards Kundana, it collided with a tractor head-on. They fell on the road, sustaining grievous head injuries.

The driver of the tractor sped away even before the victims’ shocked friends couldnote down the vehicle’s registration number. They shifted Raj and Shaji to a nearby hospital, where both of them were declared brought dead, the police said.

The police shifted the bodies to the Devanahalli government hospital for post-mortem. The Vishwanathapura police have registered a case of hit-and-run and efforts are on to identify the vehicle that caused the accident.