“You see the red spot there, that's where the accident occurred,” said the police personnel, pointing at the road where a 50-year-old woman was run over by a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus on Monday, October 17, in Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar. Umadevi was riding pillion with her daughter Vanita when the vehicle slipped on a pothole in front of the Lulu Hypermarket near Vatal Nagaraj road, soon after which it was hit by the KSRTC bus. Umadevi suffered serious head and leg injuries in the accident and was admitted to the intensive care unit at the ESIC hospital. She was later admitted to Ramaiah Memorial Hospital for advanced care, where she succumbed to injuries on Tuesday.
TNM visited the spot of the accident and found that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials had filled the potholes on that particular stretch of road. Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath had visited the accident spot, along with other officials. One of the eyewitnesses told TNM that it was after the scooter the women were travelling on had skidded after falling into the pothole, that the bus ran over the pillion rider. Many vehicles are usually seen speeding at the link road that connects to Old Mysore Road, where the accident occurred, he added.
Vanita, who sustained minor injuries in the accident, filed a case against the KSRTC bus driver at Malleswaram Traffic police station. Following this, the police arrested the bus driver and also impounded the vehicle for additional inquiry. According to the First Information Report (FIR), Umadevi, who was a domestic worker, lived with her daughter Anita in Gayatrinagar. She is survived by her daughters Vanita, Anita, and Sunita.
After BBMP officials filled the potholes at the spot, a tea seller who witnessed the accident pointed out that the civic body often does some patchwork here and there after commuters complain. “The road has been here since before the Lulu Mall was built, but now the number of people using it has increased. Despite that, no development work is undertaken,” he said. Presently, there are two police personnel deployed at the spot of the accident.
The Malleswaram Traffic Police Station Inspector said that the post-mortem examination was underway, after which they would hand over the body to the family. “Further investigation is ongoing and we will file a report soon,” the official said.
The BBMP, meanwhile, has refused to accept responsibility for the mishap. It has not yet been determined whether the accident was actually brought on by the poor state of the roads, according to Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath. It won't be possible to determine if potholes were the cause of the accident until reports from the traffic and city police teams are in, he said.