Four people were injured in a pile-up caused by Union Minister of State Anantkumar Hegde’s car in north Bengaluru on Sunday evening.
The minister, instead of checking on the victims, drove off to the Kempegowda International Airport according to eyewitnesses.
The accident took place at Dorekaval gate on National Highway 207 around 6:30 pm, when the minister was travelling from Doddaballapur to the airport.
Anantkumar Hegde’s driver was at the wheel of the car. He applied brakes to avoid a pothole and a monkey crossing the road, but instead, the car hit a Toyota Innova moving ahead of it. Seeing the crash play out, the driver of the minister’s escort vehicle also applied brakes, triggering a serial accident that damaged four vehicles, according to Deccan Chronicle.
Babu, of Chikkaballapur, said his wife broke her teeth while his children were also injured in the incident. An eyewitness confirmed that the minister did not stop at the accident spot, and immediately drove off along with the escort car.
“Accidents occur every day on this road, but being a minister, Hegde didn’t care to help the injured get to the hospital. Neither he nor his security guards came to help them. His escort team returned to the spot only after an hour. This is not the way to behave when people are in danger,” said Chandrashekar, an eyewitness from Devanahalli speaking to Deccan Herald.
Police at Vishwanathapuram police station booked the minister’s driver in connection with the incident on Sunday evening.
The accident is set to further increase the pressure on an under fire Hegde, who has been in the news on several occasions in the past month over his comments on secularism and constitution.
(The original story was published on The News Minute.)
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