Gopinath Munde death: Spine fracture cut off air

New Delhi: The preliminary autopsy report suggests that Union rural development minister Gopinath Munde, who died on Tuesday after the car he was travelling in was hit by another speeding vehicle, suffered “cervical fractures and (that) his liver was ruptured in the accident. He suffered a cardiac arrest due to the shock.”

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday evening that Mr Munde’s cervical spine was fractured at C1 (first vertebra) and C2 (second vertebra), due to which the oxygen supply to his brain and lungs may have been cut off.

At around 6.20 am, the car, in which Munde was travelling along with driver Virender Kumar and personal secretary Surender Naik, was hit by a speeding Indica driven by Gurvinder Singh, who is employed with Silver Services, a company that provides transportation to guests at Hotel Imperial, the police said.

Police said that Munde fell from the seat due to the impact, and on regaining his composure asked for water from his assistant. He then directed his driver to take him to hospital, after which he was rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he was admitted around 6.30 am. Just 50 minutes later, he was declared dead at 7.20 am.

Dr Amit Gupta, an AIIMS spokesman, said, “Mr Munde was brought to the emergency department of the Trauma Centre at about 6.30 am by his personal assistant and driver. On his arrival, there was no spontaneous breathing, no blood pressure, no pulse, no cardiac activity. So immediately Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation was started. Despite resuscitative measures, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 7.20 am.”

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (top), Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu pay their respects — PTI