Two persons riding a moped were fatally knocked down by a police vehicle on the East Coast Road on December 15. An elderly woman waiting at a bus stop was also killed. While it was alleged that the vehicle was part of the convoy of Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who had gone to Cuddalore to conduct meetings with government officials, the Raj Bhavan denied the charge.
According to police, the accident occurred around 4 p.m. when the police vehicle was proceeding to Kancheepuram from Kovalam after ‘bandobust’ duty. When the vehicle was approaching the Perur Road-ECR junction, a moped, driven by Suresh (30) of Tiruporur, suddenly came in the path of the police vehicle and collided with it.
Driver loses control
Suresh and the pillion rider, Karthikeyan (11) of Tiruporur, died on the spot. The police vehicle came to a halt after hitting the nearby bus stop as the driver lost control of the vehicle. In the impact, Kousalya (70) of Kalpakkam, waiting for a bus, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Later she was referred to the Government Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital in Chennai, where doctors declared her dead, police said.
In the evening, R. Rajagopal, Additional Chief Secretary to Governor, issued a statement saying that no accident took place during the movement of Mr. Purohit’s convoy from Cuddalore to Chennai. The vehicle involved in the fatal accident was used as an advance pilot within Kancheepuram by the District Police, after leaving the Governor’s convoy at Kancheepuram district limits. Mr Rajagopal quoting the Kancheepuram Superintendent of Police said the vehicle was involved in the accident on its way back after travelling 10 km. “It is clear that the vehicle which met with an accident was entirely on its own and was not part of the convoy of the Governor,” the release added.
