india

Updated: Dec 20, 2016 08:46 IST

A picture of a Telangana minister driving past the body of a road accident victim in Jayashankar Bhupalapally district has gone viral on social media, drawing flak from netizens on Monday.

The incident happened at Nallakaluva crossroads in Palampet village on Sunday afternoon when a Tata Ace truck rammed into a motorcycle. Taduri Madhusudhana Chary was travelling to Ramappa temple along with his two friends --- Gopi and Sateesh --- when his motorcycle was hit by the speeding truck.

While 30-year-old Chary died on the spot, the two pillion riders escaped with injuries even as the truck sped away.

When nearby villagers gathered on the spot and were looking for a vehicle to shift Chary’s body and the injured to a hospital, a convoy of cars belonging to minister for tribal welfare Azmeera Chandulal zoomed past the accident spot.

“I am sure the minister, sitting in the front seat, must have noticed the body. It was quite inhuman on his part to ignore the accident victims,” a youngster said pleading anonymity.

“The village falls under his Mulugu assembly constituency and he should have stopped the convoy, got down from his vehicle and called on the injured, let alone making arrangements for shifting the body and the injured to the hospital. But, he had no such courtesy,” the youth, who clicked the picture on his mobile phone and posted it on a WhatsApp group, added.

It was only after the minister’s convoy left that the police reached the spot and completed the formalities.

When contacted, Chandulal told Hindustan Times he had seen the body on the road but could not stop as he was rushing to Palampet to call on one of his relatives who was in a critical condition.

“I was busy attending a call from my relatives when my convoy went past the accident spot. In the normal circumstances, I would have got down and called on the accident victims but I was in a hurry then,” the minister said.

“It is not that I lack humanity. After all, they are my constituency people,” he added.