KARWAR/PANAJI: Union minister and North Goa MP Shripad Naik’s wife Vijaya and his personal assistant were killed while he was injured in a road accident late Monday when they were returning to Karnataka’s Gokarna after visiting the Gante Ganapati temple at Yellapur.
Naik was said to be in a stable condition after being shifted to Goa Medical College and Hospital at 11.13pm, around 110km from the accident site in Ankola, through a green corridor created by the state police.
Soon after doctors examined Naik at GMC, chief minister Pramod Sawant said there was no immediate danger to the Union minister’s life.
“Naik has suffered a fracture to his leg. He will undergo two minor surgeries. There is no need to shift him to Delhi for treatment. I have already briefed the Prime Minister about Naik’s condition,” he said.
Naik, who is the Ayush minister, was given initial treatment at a private hospital, where he was first rushed to after the accident in Ankola, Sawant told reporters at midnight outside Goa Medical College.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Sawant to make proper arrangements for treatment of Naik, while defence minister Rajnath Singh said he would arrange a special air ambulance to airlift Naik, who is also the minister of state for defence, if required.
Union home minister Amit Shah and national BJP president J P Nadda also spoke to Sawant regarding Naik’s condition.
Naik was in a Toyota Innova with wife Vijaya, three other family members and aide Deepak Dube when the car swerved and overturned on a damaged patch of road near Hillur-Hosakambi village in Ankola taluk. The car had taken a diversion from NH-66 moments earlier, officials said.
Vijaya succumbed to head injuries while being taken to a private hospital in Ankola town. His assistant died at Ankola Government Hospital. Besides the minister, two other passengers suffered injuries.
Naik had been hospitalised with Covid last August and spent more than a month battling various complications caused by the virus.