Four injured in pile-up caused by Anantkumar Hegde's car, he just drives off

Four people were wounded in a pile-up caused by Union minister Anantkumar Hegde's car in North Bengaluru on Sunday evening, but instead of attending to the victims, he just drove off to the Kempegowda International Airport, an eyewitness said.

The accident occurred at Dorekaval gate on National Highway 207 near Devanahalli around 6.30 pm while the minister was travelling from Doddaballapur to the airport. Hegde's chauffeur applied brakes to avoid a pothole and a monkey crossing the road. The car ended up hitting a Toyota Innova moving ahead. Seeing the crash, the driver of the minister's escort vehicle applied brakes, too. This triggered a serial accident, in which at least four vehicles were damaged.

Babu, of Chikkaballapur, who was travelling with his family in a car, said his wife broke her teeth and was severely bleeding. His daughter Joshna and son Nivel Antony were also injured. Ambarish, a motorcyclist, fractured his hands. A local resident said the minister didn't stop at the accident spot and immediately drove off along with the escort car.

"Accidents occur every day on this road, but being a minister, Hegde didn't care to help the injured get to the hospital. Neither he nor his security guards came to help them. His escort team returned to the spot only after an hour," said Chandrashekar, an eyewitness from Devanahalli. "This is not the way to behave when people are in danger." The jurisdictional Vishwanathapuram police booked the minister's chauffeur on Sunday night.