COIMBATORE: On the day Coimbatore mayor S M Velusamy submitted his resignation, his personal car was allegedly involved in a hit- and-run incident near Palladam.
An eyewitness of the incident, speaking to Express, said the car, which had a beacon light, sped down the road and hit a motorist. The eyewitness said the vehicle did not stop to help the injured man. The victim was identified as Chandrasekar (30) from Tirupur.
According to police, Chandrasekar, was a native of Kodaikanal in Dindigul district. He had moved to the district and had settled down in Arulpuram area near Tirupur. On Tuesday night, chandrasekar was returning to his house in Arulpuram from Palladam on his motorbike.
Meanwhile, the car of Velusamy was coming from the opposite direction on the same road in which Chandrasekar was travelling. Kanagaraj, the mayor’s car driver had taken the wrong side of the one-way fare instead of making a U-turn to reach Tirupur-Palladam road near the Veetupattan Kuttai area.
As Chandrasekar saw the car as coming on the wrong side, he was shaken for a while. Within seconds, the car rammed the bike, knocking it down and Chandrasekar suffered serious injuries in the impact.
Chandrasekar sustained severe injuries and was rushed to a private hospital in Coimbatore.
Chandrasekar’s condition is said to be critical. Sources said he suffered serious head injuries and has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, where he was put on a ventilator.
Polce said, Kanagaraj (38) of Peelamedu, who used to fill in as a driver for the mayor regularly, was arrested and the car seized. He was booked under sections 279 (negligent driving) and 337 (causing hurt by endangering the life of others) of the IPC.
Neither eyewitnesses nor police were certain whether Velusamy was at the wheel at the time of the incident.
Velusamy could not be reached for comment.