A 22-year-old student, Dhanushree, died in a road accident near Budigere Cross in Bengaluru on Monday morning. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Whitefield, K Parashurama, said it was a hit-and-run case, with the driver of a tipper lorry fleeing the scene after running over the victim.

The Janata Dal (Secular) has, however, alleged that the poor condition of the roads was to blame. The party claimed that potholes forced the student to lose balance, leading to the fatal collision.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, state president of the JD(S) youth wing, posted on X: “Dhanushree, a student, lost her life near Budigere Cross, thrown off by a pothole & crushed under a tipper. This is not an ‘accident’, it’s Congress-made murder. While DCM & Congress govt celebrate power, Bengaluru bleeds on killer roads. Even shame has potholes, and @INCKarnataka has fallen deep into it.”

BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai also criticised the state of roads across Karnataka. He remarked: “Potholes are not just in Bengaluru but in entire Karnataka. We don’t know if potholes are in roads or roads are in potholes.”

Police have registered a case at Avalahalli Police Station and are investigating the matter. They clarified that it was a hit-and-run caused by rash driving, rejecting JD(S)’s charge that potholes were directly responsible.

An eyewitness, Murali, who was present at the spot, said: “The girl was on her way to college from home. Near New Baldwin School, there is a ground, and opposite to it, a big pothole. While she was trying to avoid that pothole and move ahead, a truck, which was being driven rashly, came from the opposite direction and hit her. The girl was thrown to one side and the vehicle to the other.”

Congress MLC Ramesh Babu described the incident as unfortunate and said: “Police are looking into the case to see if it’s due to a pothole or not. Usually two wheelers overtake from the left and it’s dangerous. We are with the family of the deceased.”

– Ends