Jaypee officer, driver die

Hyderabad: A senior official of the Jaypee Group and his driver died while another person was injured in a road accident at Siddhanthi of Shamshabad on Wednesday. Deputy vice-president of Jaypee Cements P.V. Gopala Krishnan, 56, and his driver B. Neelesh were travelling in a Scorpio to the Rajiv Gandhi International airport when their vehicle collided with an oncoming truck. Both died on the spot while a third occupant of the car, Md. Zaheer, 28, was injured and rushed to a private hospital, said Shamshabad airport police. The accident took place near Siddhanthi Masjid at around 5.30am. “The Scorpio was proceeding towards RGI airport and the truck was travelling to Hyderabad from Kurnool. As the vehicles, coming from opposite sides, collided, the Scorpio flipped more than once, causing serious injury to the travellers. The stretch is an accident prone area as the road is too narrow there,” said RGI airport police sub-inspector M. Kashi Viswanath. He added that the truck driver’s negligence led to the accident. Passersby alerted the 108 ambulance service and the police. Zaheer was rushed to the hospital. Krishnan, who was a native of Payyanur in Kannur district of Kerala, was going to board a flight to Kerala for vacation. “He and his associates had come to Hyderabad on Tuesday night from Krishna district and had stayed at the Jaypee Group’s office at Somajiguda. They started for the airport as Krishnan had to board the flight to Kerala in the morning,” Viswanath said. Neelesh was a native of Amravati district in Maharashtra. He had been working as a driver for Jaypee Cements in Krishna district. Police has booked a case against the truck driver, Ramanjaneyalu, and confiscated the vehicle. “We have booked a case against the lorry driver under IPC Sections 279 (rash driving), 304 A (causing death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by negligence),” said Viswanath.