BBMP garbage lorry mows down two techies on bike in gruesome crash in Bengaluru

Victims were dragged for eight metres on poorly lit stretch near Vidhana Soudha.

Bengaluru: Two IT professionals were killed in a gruesome crash with a BBMP garbage lorry near KR Circle in central Bengaluru on Sunday night, officials said. 

The victims were identified as Prashanth (25), a resident of Banaswadi, and Bayyanagari Shilpa (27), a Hindupur native living in Whitefield. Both worked for Tata Consultancy Services on ITPL Main Road. 

Halasuru Gate traffic quoted their families as saying that they had stepped out on some "company-related" work when the tragedy struck.

Bayyanagari Shilpa

Police noted that the collision occurred around 8.45 pm, when the pair was heading towards KR Circle on a bike. 

Police said that a speeding lorry coming from Basaveshwara Circle supposedly took a sharp left turn and crashed into their bike on Seshadri Road, dragging both victims and their bike at least seven to eight metres ahead. They suspect both victims and the accused were travelling at a high speed. 

The victims sustained severe injuries and died on the way to the hospital. Police sources said that Shilpa hadn't been wearing a helmet. 

The lorry driver, identified as Shivashankar, 38, abandoned the vehicle and fled from the spot but was tracked down by the police on Monday. He was arrested and produced him before the court, a police officer said. 

Kuldeep Kumar Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic East), said: "We are writing to the regional transport office to get the driver's licence suspended. The station officers have also impounded the lorry and sent a sample of his blood for forensic analysis to ascertain if he was driving under the influence of alcohol," he said. 

If the blood sample analysis reveals that the driver was intoxicated during the incident, he can then be booked under Section 105 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

Prashanth

After the crash, the lorry was found on the right side of the road while the victims and the bike was towards its left, closer to the footpath, said Jain, who added that prima facie, it appeared to be the lorry driver's fault. 

Let cops investigate: BBMP

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath requested citizens to let the police investigation take its course. 

"Just because our vehicle is big, it cannot be said that our mistake is also big... The police investigation is going on. If it is our mistake, surely we will be held responsible and we will bear the consequences. Let the police investigate and fix the responsibility," he told reporters on Monday. 

He added that while the BBMP provides gratuitous relief to victims "without accepting the mistake" in other incidents, contractors are directed to provide victims' families relief during such crashes. 

Dozens of deaths since 2021

Last year, Bengaluru saw six fatal crashes due to BBMP garbage trucks. This number was seven in 2022 and eight in 2021. 

The most recent fatal crash occurred on April 7 near Balagere, when two of five techies travelling in a hatchback were killed after they crashed into a stationary garbage truck parked to one side of Balagere 'T' Junction.