Two police officers from Bengaluru were killed in a grievous road accident as they were chasing down a lead in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. A group of five officers were travelling between Chittoor and Tirupati when the accident occured in the wee hours of Sunday, July 24. Two officers — Sub Inspector Avinash (29) and constable Anil Mulik (26) — along with the driver of the vehicle, Maxwell Joseph, were killed. Two other officers — Sub Inspector Dikshit L and constable Sharanabasava — who were accompanying them were injured in the accident and were taken to the Chittoor Government Hospital, and later shifted to the Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore for treatment.
As per a statement from the Bengaluru police, the four officers belonged to the Shivajinagar station in the city. They received a specific tip-off about the movement of contraband from Andhra Pradesh to Bengaluru, and they were sent to investigate. They were travelling in a private Innova car when, as per preliminary information, it crashed into the side of the highway. The Andhra Pradesh police said that the car crash may have been caused by a pole that fell on the road, while the Bengaluru police’s statement said that a traffic barrier may have caused it. The cause of the accident is still unknown but an investigation is ongoing, they added. Chittoor SP Vishanth Reddy, Puthalapattu DySP Sudhakar Reddy, CI Srinivas Reddy and local SI Manohar have reached the spot.
The Bengaluru police department has offered condolences to the families of the deceased officers and staffer. The statement read that “all assistance and support is being rendered to the families.” The Andhra Pradesh police have said that they are investigating the matter. Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has also condoled the deaths, and wished the injured officers a speedy recovery. The Karnataka Home Department will be taking care of all the medical expenses of the injured, he said.
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