Bengaluru: Sep 20, DHNS: A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against Omprakash who had bumped his bike into a big pothole on the Devarabeesanahalli flyover near Marathahalli on Thursday that had resulted in the death of his wife Stuthi Pandey who was riding pillion.
The woman had fallen from the bike and died on the spot. The Old Airport Traffic police have registered the case.
A senior police officer said: “A case of unnatural death was registered and also the deceased’s husband, Omprakash, who was riding the bike, was booked for rash and negligent driving. As of now, he is not taken into custody, as he has gone to complete the last rites of his wife at their home town.”
When asked about booking the road contractor and maintenance officials, he said: “The contractors and people maintaining the road can also be booked. Also, the department concerned can take action against them. For now, we will discuss it with the senior police officers and based on their decision, we will take the necessary action.”
Meanwhile, the civic agencies are indulging in blame game. While the Palike said that the BDA is responsible as the area comes under BDA limits, the BDA officials have attributed the accident to the rash and negligent driving.
“During rains, it is common that roads suffer and potholes are formed. Friday’s accident is due to rash driving of the deceased’s husband. Motorists drive recklessly and in a bid to reach their destinations soon, they do not follow traffic rules. Our officials have visited the spot and taken steps to repair the potholes,” said a senior BDA official.
Stuthi Pandey, 25, and her husband Omprakash, both software professionals in the City, were returning to their house in Banashankari 1st Stage after celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi at their friend’s house in Munnekolala.
Around 9:15 pm, as he was riding on the upper ramp of the flyover opposite Sakra World Hospital, Omprakash could not avoid a huge pothole. As he rode into it and the bike wobbled, Stuthi fell on one side and Omprakash on the other.
She suffered internal head injuries and was rushed to Sakra World Hospital. However, she had died by then due to brain haemorrhage. Omprakash suffered fracture and bruises, said the police.
According to BBMP sources, Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy has written a letter on Saturday to BDA commissioner T Sham Bhatt asking him to look into the issue of maintenance of underpass, roads and flyovers.
Earlier:
Bengaluru: Pothole kills 25-year-old woman, 3rd victim in a month
BENGALURU, Sep 19 (TOI) : A 25-year-old employee of an IT firm riding pillion with her husband was killed after their scooter skid on a pothole on an east Bengaluru flyover on Thursday night. This is third death caused by the city's notorious potholes in less than a month.
On Thursday evening, Stuti Pandey, a resident of Banashankari Stage I, and her husband and software professional, Om Prakash, attended Ganesha Puja at their friend Saurav Srivastava's place in Munekolalu. After the festivities, the couple, who hailed from Madhya Pradesh, headed back home on their Honda Activa with another friend, Ashish, in tow on his bike.
Around 9.30pm, the couple reached the Devarabeesanahalli flyover on Outer Ring Road, opposite Sakra Hospital. They were on the upper ramp of the flyover when the accident happened.
Ashish said he was about 50 metres behind Om Prakash. "Suddenly, I saw the scooter skid and fall. Stuti fell to the left of the road and Om Prakash to the right. I stopped my bike and rushed to the couple's help. The scooter appeared to have hit a pothole that was in the middle of the road. Stuti was unconscious, while Prakash appeared to have a broken hand," he said.
According to Sakra Hospital, where Stuti was first taken, she was unresponsive when brought in, her pulse couldn't be felt and there was no heartbeat. "The patient was declared brought dead on September 17 at 10.27pm," said hospital documents.
Waiting outside the Bowring Hospital mortuary on Friday, Saurav said it was around 10pm, some time after the couple left, that he got a call from Ashish saying there was road accident and Stuti was injured. "By the time I reached the hospital, she had been declared dead," he said.
This is the third death caused by a pothole in less than a month. On August 23, Sunitha Kumar, 28, and her son Nikhith Gowda, 10, riding a scooter were hit by a private bus after the mother swerved to the right to avoid a pothole on Tumakuru Road. While Nikhith was killed on the spot, Sunitha who had rushed with her son's body in her arms to the hospital died of brain haemorrhage a few days later.
Was she run over?
The killer pothole on the Devarabeesanahalli flyover is bang in the middle of the road. It runs parallel to the vehicle flow. It is about 4 metres long, a foot wide and six inches deep. Ashish, who was following the couple on a bike, said there was a tyre mark on Stuti's body, raising suspicion that a vehicle ran over her. Her husband, Om Prakash, who is in a state of shock, couldn't confirm the same.
Police have registered a case of accidental death. They said the post-mortem would ascertain whether internal or head injuries proved fatal.