Kannada TV actor rides into BBMP ditch in Bangalore, dies

Bangalore: In a freak accident, a TV actor died after he fell along with his bike into a ditch dug by BBMP wor­kers to lay sewage pipes. The incident was reported on Bahadur Haya­vadana Rao Road in Gavipuram Extension in Basa­vanagudi traffic po­lice station limits early Sunday.

The deceased has been identified as Ashok Ku­mar, 55, who has acted in several TV serials incl­uding ‘Mahaparva’, ‘Pal­lavi Anupallavi’, among others.

According to the police, Kumar went to Hos­ad­urga in Chit­rad­urga to act in a play. He  parked his bike at a friend’s house and travelled in a car on Satu­rday mor­ning. Wh­en they retu­r­ned early Sun­day, Ku­m­ar took his bike and went  home.

While passing Bahadur Hayav­adana R­ao Road, he failed to see the barrica­de that was placed in front of the ditch and rammed his bike into it. As a result, the barricade fell into the ditch and Kumar too followed al­ong with the bike.

“He sustained injuries on his forehead and dro­wned in the sewage wa­ter accumulated in the ditch. Some time later, passersby noticed the bo­dy and info­rmed the police.” the po­lice said.

“The BBMP had taken permission and started the works ten days ago. They had put up warning boards and barricades around the ditch. It is suspected that Ku­mar was going at high speed and failed to see the barricade or the war­ning board in the dark,” the police said.

Kumar’s wife Kalavathi said, “As he did not reach untill 8 am, I tried calling him, but his pho­ne was not reachable. I got a call from the police and they informed about the accident.”

A case is registered in Basav­anag­udi traffic police station.