Junior artiste Rega Sindhu dies in car crash

Rega was accompanied by three friends when the accident took place. R Abhishek Kumaran, who was behind the wheel of the car, suffered injuries and was later admitted to a private hospital in Chennai. The two other passengers, who were identified as Rakshini (28), another junior artiste and Jayakumaran (23), escaped unhurt. 

Natrampalli police, who rushed to the accident spot, said the driver seemed to have dozed off and the car hit the median on the right side at a very high speed. “Rega Sindhu was sitting in the front seat along with Abhishek Kumaran. She was not wearing a seat belt and suffered multiple fatal injuries. The car that was heading towards Bengaluru from Chennai rolled over thrice landed on the other side of the road,” Natrampalli police inspector Santhalingam told DTNext. 

Police said Rega, who was attending a fashion design course in Chennai, was returning home to Bengaluru along with her friends on Thursday night. Her friends hail from Anna Nagar and Chengalpattu, police said. Motorists, who witnessed the accident, alerted both the 108 ambulance service and the police. 

“We reached the accident spot within five minutes and rushed the injured to a hospital. However, Rega was declared dead on arrival by the attending doctors. Initial investigation suggested that the driver could have slept as the accident occurred around 1.30 am,” Santhalingam said. 

Police said there were no break marks on the road, implying that the driver did not realise that the vehicle was swerving towards the right before hitting the median. Rega’s father Paulraj told media persons that he suspected foul play in the death of his daughter. 

Police said that no one has come forward to file a complaint. They plan on interrogating the Rega’s friend before registering a case. They also said that Abhishek Kumaran’s condition was not critical. Rega Sindhu was a Bengaluru-based model, who was featured in numerous television commercials. She also played a supporting role in the yet-to-be-released Tamil film Rudra.