MYSURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brother Prahlad Modi and four of his family members escaped with minor injuries when the car in which they were travelling met with an accident at Kadakola in Mysuru taluk on Tuesday afternoon. The family was on its way to Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Chamarajanagar district.
Police said that Satyanarayana, the driver of the SUV in which Prahlad was travelling, felt drowsy and failed to notice the road divider on the lane and crashed into it. The impact was such that the front right wheel of the car got separated from the vehicle. All the airbags in the car got deployed due to the impact avoiding serious injuries to passengers.
While Prahlad, his son Mehul, daughter-in-law Jinal and grandson Maharath were in a Mercedes-Benz SUV, his daughter Sonal and son-in-law Virag were in another SUV.
Prahlad sustained a small scratch on his face, his son had minor injuries on the leg and hand. Prahlad’s daughter-in-law sustained a cut near her eyebrow and the six-year-old grandson received a minor fracture on his left leg. The family travelled from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad and from there flew to Bengaluru on December 26.
Family was on trip to Bandipur: MP
They left Bengaluru for Bandipur by road on Tuesday morning for a wildlife safari ride. While they were escorted by the police, the incident happened when the vehicles reached a narrow lane at Kodakola on Mysuru-Ooty Road in Mysuru taluk around 1.30 pm.
Meanwhile, the driver of the SUV in which Sonal and Virag were travelling behind Prahlad’s car applied sudden brakes. Even though the car hit the SUV which was in the front, the driver managed to avert a major tragedy.
Mysuru Police Superintendent of Police (SP) Seema Latkar visited the spot. The police, along with Sonal and her husband Virag, rushed the injured to JSS Hospital. CP Madhu, Medical Superintendent, JSS Hospital, told reporters that the injured were given immediate treatment in the emergency ward in the hospital.
BJP MP Pratap Simha said that it was the family’s private trip to Bandipur. Suttur Mutt seer Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji visited the hospital and met the injured. Local BJP MLA SA Ramadas said that after the accident, the family members were in shock but have recovered.