Krishnagiri Collector Pooja Kulkarni was seriously injured when her car dashed against a government bus parked on the roadside on Saturday. One of the co-passengers in the car, the Collector’s Duffedar, died while her PA and driver sustained grievous injuries.
According to Collectorate sources, Kulkarni was travelling to a village in Dharmapuri District to attend the funeral of the father of Krishnagiri District Revenue Officer C Prakasam.
She was travelling in her official vehicle, a Toyota Qualis, along with her PA G Jaishankar and Duffedar G Muniraj (57). Driver Shivanandha was at the wheel of the vehicle, which rammed the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus parked on the roadside near Kattu Veeranjaneya Temple on the National Highway from behind.
On hearing the news, Municipal Administration Minister K P Munusamy, Krishnagiri Superintendent of Police and other officials rushed to the spot and took the seriously injured Collector and others to Krishnagiri Government Hospital.
Duffedar G Muniraj was declared dead on arrival by the hospital authorities. The Collector, her PA and the driver were given first aid and were shifted to a private hospital in Bangalore for further treatment.
According to sources, a speeding Maruti Alto vehicle tried to overtake the Collector’s vehicle and it brushed against the bumper of the Collector’s car. As a result, driver Sivanandha lost control of the vehicle and rammed the bus. Meanwhile, the Alto vehicle, which had an Andhra Pradesh registration, sped away.
Krishnagiri police have alerted all check posts to intercept the Alto that apparently caused the accident.