HYDERABAD: A teenager’s life ended abruptly when the speeding vehicle belonging to the convoy of State endowments minister A Indrakaran Reddy hit a 17-year-old’s bike on Saturday. The victim, J Sathwik, was shifted to Nirmal Area Hospital but died while being treated. In the wake of protests by the victim’s relatives, police booked a case against the car’s driver and arrested him.
Reddy on Sunday met the boy’s family and announced an ex gratia of `5 lakh. He said the government would provide a job to one person in the family. Sathwik was a Class 10 student at St Thomas school.
According to police, the vehicle hit the bike ridden by Sathwik near Shanti Nagar cross road in Nirmal town on Saturday. The vehicle had been on its way to pick up the minister’s family members from a nearby Ayyappa Swamy temple. “The vehicle lost control and hit the boy’s two-wheeler from behind causing serious head injuries,” police said. The vehicle and its driver were from the State’s Protocol Department.
As per CCTV footage, the car, being driven at high speed, hit the bike and dragged Sathwik along for a distance. Reddy was not in the vehicle when the accident occurred. Speaking to Express, Nirmal SP, Vishnu S Warrior, said a case had been filed against the car driver, Raju, as per IPC 304 (A).
Earlier, visiting the hospital where Sathwik’s body was kept, Reddy termed the incident as “most unfortunate”. “I’m totally dejected to see that this happened to Sathwik. We wished somehow he sustained minor injuries and came out alive... May God render peace to the departed soul and strength to the family to sustain the loss,” he said.