Bengaluru accident: Woman dies after two-wheeler skids on Ananthanagar Main Road
A 32-year-old woman died in Bengaluru after the two-wheeler on which she was riding pillion skidded when a car ahead braked suddenly. She was run over by a goods vehicle. Residents later protested, alleging poor roads and potholes contributed
Bengaluru: A 32-year-old woman died after the two-wheeler on which she was riding pillion skidded following sudden braking, and she was run over by a goods vehicle, police said on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Medha Akarsh, a native of Kerala, who lived here with her husband and three-year-old child. She worked at the Provident Fund office here, they said.
The accident occurred at around 9 am on Wednesday on Ananthanagar Main Road near Hebbagodi, police said.
According to police, Medha was travelling as a pillion rider on a two-wheeler ridden by her colleague Ajay Guru. A car travelling ahead of them suddenly applied brakes, following which Guru also braked to avoid a collision.
The two-wheeler skidded, and both riders fell onto the road. Medha apparently fell towards the right side of the road, where a goods vehicle coming from the opposite direction allegedly ran over her, a senior police officer said.
She was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to her injuries. Guru sustained minor injuries and was doing fine, the officer said.
Citing preliminary investigation, the officer said the car driver appeared to have applied the brakes after a pedestrian began crossing the road and not because of potholes.
He added that there were no potholes on the particular stretch where the accident occurred.
The goods vehicle fled the scene soon after the accident, police said, adding that efforts were underway to trace it.
A case has been registered at the Electronic City Traffic Police Station, and an investigation is underway.
Following the accident, residents gathered in large numbers on the streets of Ananth Nagar in Electronic City on Wednesday evening, holding candles and flashing mobile phone lights to demand accountability from civic authorities and allege poor road infrastructure.
They alleged that civic authorities had neglected the area, which they claimed was riddled with potholes, and demanded repairs to the roads and improvement of infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad expressed sadness over the woman’s death and said there could be a possibility that a pothole had contributed to the accident.
He said there could be a possibility that a pothole contributed to the accident, but added that the presence of a pothole did not mean the government had neglected infrastructure development, as it had spent substantial amounts on it.
Lad said the government had provided explanations on road infrastructure spending every year and hit out at the BJP over its criticism of the state government’s roads.
Taking a dig at the BJP, the minister said that if the party had built good roads during its 10 years in power at the Centre and in the states, roads would not be in their present condition.
