Sailor buys wedding gift for sister, but Army truck delivers his body

Bhavya was to get married on Sunday. Her elder brother, Raghu, went to the Army canteen and bought her a wristwatch on Thursday. He could not gift her the watch. A road collision brought to an abrupt end the laughter and wedding celebrations in his home.

A sailor with the Indian Navy died at the Military Command Hospital on Friday, a day after he was knocked down by an army truck.

Police said BS Raghu, 25, was riding a two-wheeler to his house in Koramangala when the mishap happened on Richmond Road around 12.45 pm on Thursday.

Raghu, posted at the naval base in Kochi, Kerala, had been on leave to attend his younger sister’s wedding slated for Sunday. He was returning home after buying a present – a wristwatch – for his sister Bhavya, from the MEG military canteen.

Inspector MC Kavitha of Ulsoor police station said Raghu’s uncle, Vinod Kumar, 38, who was riding pillion, suffered minor injuries in the accident.

“The accident happened in front of the Army Aviation Officers’ quarters next to the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) headquarters,” Kavitha said.

Raghu’s father R Chandrashekar is a head constable with the KSRP.

The truck involved in the accident belonged to the Military Engineering Services Centre located on Richmond Road. A civilian, T Nagesh, was driving the  vehicle.

“I was returning after work. I came from the Hosmat side, and took a right turn to our office. The bike, which came from Trinity Circle, tried to pass through before the truck, resulting in the collision,” Nagesh said.

Raghu was thrown off onto the road, and sustained serious head injuries. His uncle, with help from passersby, rushed the youth to the Command Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries around 2 am.

Police said Raghu was wearing a helmet. However, his life could have been saved if he had used a quality headgear.

The deceased person’s uncle, Kumar, also an army man, had arrived in the city on leave to attend Bhavya’s wedding.

Police said they had seized the truck and detained driver Nagesh for further investigation. The Army, too, had ordered an inquiry into the accident.

Raghu’s body was handed over to his relatives after a post-mortem examination at the Bowring Hospital.

In another accident in the city, a 70-year-old man was mowed down by a tipper lorry in Belandur junction on Friday morning.
Police said Raghavendra Rao was crossing the road from Shobha Apartments, where he had been staying, around 11 am when the sand-laden lorry hit him.

Witnesses rushed him to a nearby hospital, but the doctors declared that the Andhra Pradesh native was brought dead.

The lorry driver, Srinivasalu, fled the scene soon after the accident, abandoning the vehicle. He was later arrested.

The lorry was ferrying sand from Arthur in Andhra Pradesh to the city. Police said they had registered a case and seized the vehicle.
Rao’s body has been kept in the morgue of St John’s Hospital, awaiting the arrival of his son from his native state.

Police said a post-mortem examination would be conducted only after his son’s arrival in the city.