Two policemen were injured when a security van escorting Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi overturned on the Yeshwanthpur flyover on Sunday morning.
Karunanidhi was heading towards the Bengaluru International Airport to catch a 10.20 am flight to Chennai when the driver of the vehicle at the tail end of the convoy lost control, leading to the mishap around 9am. The rest of the motorcade went ahead, oblivious of the missing security van.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch was returning home after visiting his daughter Selvi, a resident of JP Nagar. The accident did not affect Karunanidhi’s schedule.
The injured policemen, assistant sub-inspector Channe Gowda and constable Badrinath, have been kept under observation at MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital. The doctors treating them said their injuries were not life-threatening.
Ten City Armed Reserve policemen – the strike force – were in the van that had overturned. The accident held up traffic on the flyover. However, police soon pressed a crane into service and removed the vehicle.
Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic West) PH Rane, who was travelling just behind Karunanidhi’s car, said that the convoy was informed of the accident 15 minutes later, when they had reached Mekhri Circle. “We deploy the strike force to intervene in case of emergency. The driver of the van tried to negotiate a right turn, but lost control over the vehicle. Even though he applied brakes, the vehicle toppled,” he said.
When Karunanidhi was proceeding towards Selvi’s house on December 24, the jammer in his motorcade had caught fire near Hebbal flyover. The security personnel extinguished the fire.
