Hema Malini''s driver arrested; actress undergoes surgery

Jaipur, July 3

Actress and BJP MP Hema Malini's driver was on Friday arrested on charges of causing death by negligence after her Mercedes collided with another car, killing a four-year-old girl and injuring the actress along with four others last night.

The 66-year-old actress underwent a surgery for her wounds at Fortis hospital here and was doing fine, doctors attending to her said.

Ramesh Chand Thakur, who was driving Hema's car when it met with the accident in Dausa, 60 km from here, has been arrested at Kotwali Thana, SHO Dilip Singh told PTI.

An FIR was lodged against the driver, who hails from Vrindavan, under various sections of the IPC, including 279 (rash driving) and 304 (A) (causing death by negligence not amounting to culpable homicide) in the wee hours, the SHO said.

Hema's daughter Esha Deol and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje visited the BJP MP at the hospital.

"She had lacerations in para-nasal area and on forehead near the right eyebrow," P Tamboli, facility director at Fortis said.

"A surgery of debridement and repair of lacerated wounds was carried out post midnight," he said.

It was a two-hour long process under general anaesthesia. She is now in post-operative intensive care unit, he said.

"Her clinical parameters are at normal level. She is doing fine and has been started on liquid diet," Tamboli said.

A team of specialists was attending to her, he said.

Doctors said that Hema also suffered a minor fracture in her nasal bone. Plastic surgery was carried out near the nose and eyebrows and it will take six weeks for the wounds to heal.

Hanuman Mahajan, who lost his four-year-old daughter Sonam and was among the four injured, filed a complaint with the Kotwali police station in Daus against Ramesh, the SHO said.

He said both the vehicles were seized and a probe was on.

There were three persons in Mercedes-- BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini, her PA and driver, while five persons including two children, two women and the complainant Hanuman Mahajan were in the other car, the SHO said.

Sonam (4) succumbed to injuries on way to a hospital in Dausa, while four others Hanuman, his wife Shikha (35), Somil (5), and Seema (40), were shifted to Jaipur's SMS hospital, the SHO said.

Hema was proceeding from Mathura via Bharatpur to Jaipur when the mishap occurred on Agra-Jaipur National Highway-11 near Dausa in Rajasthan around 9 pm yesterday. The other car was going from Jaipur to Lalsot.

Hema was brought to hospital at Jaipur where she underwent CT scan and other tests. Locals staged a protest after the accident and tried to block the highway, but they were dispersed by police, the SHO said.

Victim's family upset with BJP MP

While the world appears worried about the actress-turned-MP, the loss of the other victims in the accident has been ignored.

The father of the two-year-old girl who died in the crash is distraught. Having already lost his daughter, he now faces another onerous task: telling his wife, who was also grievously injured in the crash, that their toddler is no more.

What hurt the family more was that neither the MP nor her aides have come to ask the family how they are.

The mother's uncle, who chose to remain anonymous, said: "We have told the father, Hanuman Khandelwal, of the death of the child in the accident. He was shocked and has been crying since Thursday night. We try to console him but fail to do so. But we have not told the mother as she is still in a bad condition after the accident."

"The mother (Shikha) always asks us about her daughter... Chinni kahan hai?  Chinni kahan hai? (Where is Chinni?) We only tell her that she is fine and with us. We do not have the guts to tell her about the death as we are afraid how she will react. Chinni was the most lovable daughter in the family," the relative said.

"We know she (Hema Malini) was also hurt but at least she could have inquired about the well being of the family... (She could have) asked the doctors to give (the family) proper treatment," said the relative.

Doctors at the SMS Hospital said the family was doing "well".

Rajasthan Medical and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore visited them on Thursday night and directed the hospital to provide free treatment. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje also visited the accident victims. — IANS