Nelamangala crash: Tech firm CEO, family laid to rest at native village

Bengaluru: The six members of a family from Bengaluru, who died in the horrific road crash near Nelamangala on Saturday, were laid to rest in their native Morbagi village in Maharashtra on Sunday. 

Chandram Yegapagol, his wife Gaurabai, 40, their children Gyaan, 16, and Deeksha, 10, sister-in-law Vijayalakshmi, 35, and niece Arya, 6, were killed after a container truck lost balance, jumped lanes and toppled on their Volvo car on the Bengaluru-Tumakuru section of National Highway 48 on Saturday. Yegapagol was the managing director and CEO of IAST Software Solutions Private Ltd in HSR Layout. 

The bodies, retrieved from the mangled car following a rescue operation that lasted nearly two hours, were taken to a local hospital for autopsy. 

On Sunday, Yegapagol’s family received the mortal remains at their native Morbagi village in Sangli district. The six were laid to rest, while the family, friends and villagers mourned. A team of investigators led by the DySP (Nelamangala) has launched a probe into the crash and is reviewing CCTV feed.

A case under BNS sections 281 (rash driving), 125 (a) (any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others) and 106 (death by negligence) was booked against Arif, the driver of the container vehicle that toppled on Yegapagol’s Volvo XC90. 

CCTV footage accessed by DH showed another car, supposedly a blue-coloured hatchback, moving next to the container truck moments before it swerved and jumped over the median to the opposite lane.

Police suspect the car may have stopped suddenly, leading Arif to steer the container truck away. Officials are also attempting to trace the car driver.