Actor-politician Harikrishna dies in road crash
FRIENDS SAY HE LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE WHEN HE TRIED TO REACH FOR A WATER BOTTLE
Telugu film actor, senior leader of the Telugu Desam Party and former MP Nandamuri Harikrishna died in a road accident in the Nalgonda district of Telangana early yesterday.
He would have turned 62 on September 2.
Harikrishna was the third of the eight sons of former chief minister, Telugu Desam Party founder and legendary film actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao.
News of his death plunged the political and film worlds in the two Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana into mourning.
According to police Harikrishna was driving when the accident occurred at Anaparthi, near Nalgonda town.
He was travelling from Hyderabad to Nellore to attend a wedding ceremony. His two friends Venkat Rao and Shivaji who were travelling with him were injured. According to them, Harikrishna lost control of the vehicle when he turned to pick up a water bottle while he was behind the wheel.
The vehicle overturned several times after hitting the median. Harikrishna was thrown out of the vehicle sustaining severe injuries to the head and chest. He was rushed to Kamineni Hospital at Narketpally, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Nalgonda District Superintendent of Police Ranganath said speeding was believed to be the cause of the incident.
Seat belt
“If he had put on the seat belt, the impact could have been reduced,” he said. The speed of the car at the time of accident was 160km/h, he added. “The car was found 15 metres away from the place where it hit the divider and Harikrishna was found lying 20 metres away”, he said.
Harikrishna’ brother-in-law and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his son, minister Nara Lokesh, rushed by helicopter to Nalgonda on hearing about the accident. Naidu broke down when he saw the body of his brotherin-law who had played a key role in his rise to the post of AP chief minister in August 1995.
Harikrishna’s other brother and popular actor N. Balakrishna, his sisters Bhuvaneshwari and Purandeswari and two sons N.T.R. Junior and Kalyan Ram (also Telugu actors) also rushed to the hospital.
After a post-mortem, the body was moved to Hyderabad and was being kept at his residence in the Mehdipatnam area of the city. Naidu also accompanied the body to the city. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who paid tribute to Harikrishna by laying a wreath, announced that he would be accorded a state funeral.
A large number of mourners from the film and political worlds gathered at Harikrishna’s residence.