Car plunges into Moyar river, three dead

The deceased have been identified as U Nithin (28) and R M Rohit (28), mushroom merchants from Bengaluru, and Abhishek Belli (30) from Lovedale in Udhagamandalam. The lone survivor was T Naresh from Udhagamandalam. Police inquiry revealed that Nithin and Rohit had come to The Nilgiris for a vacation. They went from Udhagamandalam to Masinagudi in their four-wheeler with their friends. They entered the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) before 9 pm.  It is learnt that they had consumed alcohol before beginning the return trip to Udhagamandalam. 

Quoting Naresh, police explained that the vehicle was speeding near the Government Silk Farm at Masinagudi when Nithin, who was at the wheel, spotted a wild boar in the middle of the road. It is learnt that he swerved the vehicle to avoid the animal but he lost control and the car slid off the road and plunged into the river. 

Police said that Naresh had clung to the branches of a tree close to the river and therefore they managed to pull him out of the vehicle. But as Nithin and Rohith were sitting in the front seats, they could not unbuckle their seat-belts and drowned. Abhishek who was seated in the rear is said to have managed to get out of the vehicle, but as he could not swim to safety, he too drowned. 

Masinagudi police and Fire and Rescue Services Department personnel retrieved the vehicle from the river along with the dead bodies of the duo from Bengaluru. 

Search for Abhishek’s body that began early in the morning on Tuesday went on till it was spotted around 11 am. An autopsy was performed on the bodies and later handed over to the relatives.  A case was registered against Nithin under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. But the case is likely to be closed as the accused too was killed in the accident.