MANGALURU: A 44-year-old woman riding a two-wheeler was killed in an accident on National Highway 66 near Kulur on Tuesday, after hitting a pothole and falling under a fish-laden truck. Following public outrage and viral CCTV footage of the incident, Mangaluru City Police have booked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for negligence, citing poor road maintenance as the primary cause of the fatality.
The victim, Madhavi, a resident of Kulai and an employee at a private hospital in the city, was on her way to work when the accident occurred at around 8:30 am. Eyewitnesses reported that she lost control after hitting a pothole on the poorly maintained stretch of NH-66 and was run over by a the truck. She died on the spot.
CCTV footage triggered criticism over the repeated delays in repair work. The NHAI belatedly began repair work on the affected stretch, sparking further criticism.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy confirmed NHAI’s negligence in not filling potholes caused the accident. The truck driver Mohammed Farooq were also booked for rash driving. A case has been registered by the Mangaluru North Traffic Police under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the BNS and Section 198(A) of the IMV Act.
This is the second such case of criminal negligence filed against NHAI in the coastal region within a week. The road is unfit for public use. The road has reportedly not seen proper repairs in years. This is not an accident-it’s a direct consequence of administrative apathy, said Muneer Katipalla, convener of the Toll Gate Virodhi Horata Samiti.
