Bengaluru: A fourth semester law student at the School of Law in Christ University and son of a sitting High Court judge in Kerala died when the motorbike he was riding on collided head-on with another motorcycle in Bengaluru on Monday night.
The deceased, Anand Mathew (20), son of Kerala High Court Judge Babu Mathew, was riding the pillion on a Honda CBR bike (KA-04 HS 5360) that was being ridden by his friend Prince.
The accident occurred around 10 pm on Monday on the Sadduguntepalya Main Road near Dairy Circle. Prince was dropping Anand home at Balaji Layout behind Christ University campus, when he tried to overtake a vehicle from the right.
Another two-wheeler from the opposite direction, which was also at a good speed, collided with Prince’s bike. Anand fell and sustained critical head injuries.
Passersby rushed Anand to St. John’s Hospital, where he died early on Tuesday morning. Prince and two other riders of the other bike all sustained minor injuries. They were discharged after first-aid, the police said.
The victim’s family members were informed and they arrived in the city from Kerala early on Tuesday morning, and took away the body after the postmortem. His body was taken to Mulavukavu in Ponnarimangalam in Kochi, where the last rites were conducted on Tuesday. Anand was the younger of the two sons of Justice Babu Mathew, who lives in Kochi. The other son, Manu Mathew, is a doctor.
Stretch notorious for accidents
The Sadduguntepalya Main Road near Christ College is notorious for rash and negligent riding and driving by college students, said a local resident, Archan. There are no speed-breakers or traffic policemen on the stretch to stop the menace.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem, who visited the spot, was heckled by harried local residents. He told Deccan Chronicle, “We will deploy men and keep a strict vigil on this stretch and stop students from indulging in rash and negligent riding and driving.”
The transport department should consider making helmets compulsory for pillion riders too to prevent such accidental deaths, he said. Mico Layout traffic police have booked Prince for rash and negligent riding.
