Bangalore, Sep 11: A couple returning from a Ganesha temple and two youths who went to buy pooja items for the festival came under an army truck, after an inebriated driver went berserk on Mysore Road near Doddabele Junction, Kengeri on Monday morning. All four, who were travelling on two scooters, died instantly.
The truck driver, Jyothiba Maruti Belgaonkar, 31, hailing from Belgaum, was found heavily drunk and arrested. He was stationed at the ASC Centre, Bangalore.
The truck was entering the city from Mysore. Around 10.45 am, the driver lost control over the vehicle, climbed the central median near Doddabele junction on to the opposite lane. It triggered panic among motorists on the lane. But before they could move to safety, the truck first hit a tempo and two scooters head on.
The couple Manju Prasad, 48, and his wife Mahadevi, 45, were residents of Babusapalya. Prasad worked with a private company on Avenue Road and Mahadevi was employed at Bombay Rayon Garments Factory. The couple had been to a Ganesha temple in Kengeri with their daughter Sindhu, 22, and son Shakti Vinayaka, 19. The boy and girl were returning home on another scooter.
The public apprehended the driver. The city police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 of IPC. The case was transferred from the Kengeri traffic police station to Kengeri civil police station. He was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate on Monday evening. Remanded to 14 days in judicial custody, he is currently lodged at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
Tragic end to festive day
* On Monday morning, a drunk Jyothiba Maruti Belgaonkar was driving an army truck, from Mysore to Bangalore
* At around 10.45am on Doddabele Junction, Belgaonkar lost control and the truck ran over the median on to the opposite road
* Truck first hit a tempo and later two scooters head on
* All four people on the scooters died instantly
He was drunk 10 times beyond permissible limit
A senior police official said the truck driver was so sozzled that he was not even aware of what he did. By evening a more sober Sepoy Jyothiba Maruti Belgaonkar realized the gravity of his act.
When brought to the Kengeri police station, Belgaonkar sat on a chair reserved for officials by putting up his legs on the table, police sources said. Persistent queries from senior officials elicited only one reply from Belgaonkar: "Mujhe pata nahin saab."
The city police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 of IPC. The case was transferred from the Kengeri traffic police station to Kengeri civil police station. He was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate on Monday evening. Remanded to 14 days in judicial custody, he is presently lodged at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
Girish, DCP (Traffic West), said an alcometer test on Belgaonkar showed a very high reading of 343 mg/100 ml of blood, as against the permissible 30 mg/100 ml.
Belgaonkar underwent medical examination at Victoria Hospital. Police sources said he had put in 11 years of service, much of it in Ahmedabad. On June 15, he was deputed to 56 Supply Depot, ASC Centre, Bangalore.
The Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area of the Army headquartered in the city had organized a two-day Army Mela, as part of its awareness campaign in Mysore on Saturday and Sunday. The mela was held at Torchlight Parade Ground in Bannimantap.
Belgaonkar had gone to Mysore to transport some bikes for a two-day Army Mela held there and was returning on Monday morning when the accident occurred.
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