Drunken driving claims man's life

A two-wheeler rider was killed after he fell into a drain in Chikkajala traffic police limits on Monday night. The victim is Manikantha, 23, a resident of Chikkajala. He hailed from Huvinahole village in Chitradurga district. He was drunk when the accident occurred, police said.

Manikantha was an autorickshaw driver. He went out on his bike on Monday to buy diesel. While moving on the Doddajala bridge, he lost control of the vehicle and fell into a ‘raja kaluve’ below the bridge. He sustained head injuries as there was no water in the drain and died. The body was stuck deep in the bushes and hence, nobody noticed it, police said.

Manikantha’s  family members presumed that he might return the next morning. They searched for him on Tuesday morning and were about to lodge a missing complaint, when a few local residents noticed a body and alerted the police.

In another accident in Yelahanka traffic police limits on Tuesday, the pillion rider was killed, while the rider escaped with injuries after a truck laden with iron grills collided with a bike. The accident took place at Jakkur Cross when Raghavendra, 26, the rider and Nagesh Agera, 17, both employees of a private firm and residents of Nandini Layout, were on their way to Devanahalli for official work. The truck driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the bike. He abandoned the truck and escaped. Local residents shifted the duo to a nearby hospital. Nagesh died in the hospital in the evening, police said.