Canter Mows Down Nine Persons in Hassan, Injures Many
Hassan SP Mohammad Sujeetha told reporters the canter hit a two-wheeler on its left side and crossed to the right side before penetrating through 3-feet height median and ran straight into the procession passing in the opposite lane of the road
Bengaluru: A drunk driver mowed down nine persons with his mini-lorry while trying to escape after an accident in Hassan district of Karnataka on Friday night. Five of the victims were engineering students who were taking part in a Lord Ganesh procession. The incident occurred at Mosale Hosahalli of Hassan district on National Highway-373 at about 9 pm on Friday.
According to witness accounts, mini-lorry driver Bhuvanesh first rammed an autorickshaw with his vehicle. While trying to flee, he hit a two-wheeler, killing rider Prabhakar, 55, on the spot.
Hassan superintendent of police Mohammad Sujeetha said the mini-lorry veered to the right, broke through a three-feet-tall median and ran into a procession passing on the opposite side of the road. Eight persons were killed and over 25 injured before the vehicle came to a stop.
Locals nabbed Bhuvanesh and handed him over to the police, who said he was drunk. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against Bhuvanesh and he has been arrested. He was taken to a hospital as he had sustained injuries,
Hassan incharge minister Krishna Byregowda said the driver had applied brakes before the vehicle had hit the two-wheeler, going by the tyre marks at the spot of accident. He later appears to have pressed the acceleration pedal.
Byregowda said Bhuvanesh’s blood sample had been drawn by doctors and sent to the Forensic Science Lab tests.
Police are investigating complaints by eyewitnesses that there was another person with Bhuvanesh in the driver’s cabin, The minister said police were verifying this claim with CCTV cameras along the way.
Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah announced ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to each of the families of the deceased, and stated that the state government would bear the medical expenses for the treatment of the injured.
In a message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the deaths. In a post on X, he called the incident heart-rending. “In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those who have been injured recover at the earliest,” he said.
Modi announced an ex gratia of `2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given `50,000 each.
In Hassan, residents demanded an increase in the ex gratia amount to the victims from the state government. Residents told Byregowda that the families of victims killed in a plane crash get `1 crore each as ex gratia and those killed in stampedes are given `50 lakh. “Why the discrimination,” they asked, and insisted that the government pay `50 lakh to the families of each of the victims.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders especially MLC Chalavadi Narayansway supported the demand.
Responding to this, Siddaramaiah said the government gives ex gratia of `5 lakh to the kin of each deceased to express condolence, not in a bid to equate the value of human life with the compensation.
“The government giving compensation to the families of the deceased does not mean it is equal to the value of life. The compensation is given to express condolence to the bereaved families,” Siddaramaiah told reporters at Mysuru airport.
Referring to the accident, he said, “We have formulated the Road Safety Act. If an accident happens due to the mistake of truck drivers, how can the government be held accountable?”
Rejecting BJP's demand to enhance the compensation, Siddaramaiah asked, “How much did they give during their tenure in government? If they had given then, we too would have considered it.”
“We give compensation keeping in mind the financial condition of the economically weaker sections. It must be given equally in all such cases,” he asserted.