Pathanamthitta (Kerala) (PTI): Pathanamthitta District Collector Prem Krishnan S on Sunday said that he escaped serious injuries as he was wearing the seat belt when his official vehicle met with an accident and flipped over.

On Friday, a private car rammed into the Collector's vehicle, flipping it over and injuring him, his security officer and the driver in the accident near Konni here.

However, the injuries were not serious as they were all wearing seat belts, Krishnan told a TV channel.

He said that he was sitting in the back of the vehicle and was wearing his seat belt due to which when the car was rammed and it flipped over, he was not thrown around inside it.

"It was also easy for the local to pull me out of the vehicle as I was wearing the seat belt," he added.

Describing the incident, Krishnan said that the offending vehicle came on the wrong lane at high speed to overtake 2-3 vehicles and hit his car, which was coming from the other direction.

"We were correctly moving in our lane, but other vehicle came head-on towards on the wrong side. Even though my driver tried to swerve away, the other car hit ours and flipped it over.

"As I was wearing the seat belt, I was not thrown around inside the car. It saved me," the Collector said.

A case of rash and negligent driving has been lodged against the driver of the offending vehicle.

The four occupants of the other vehicle also suffered injuries, police had said.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): TVK chief Vijay launched a scathing attack on the ruling DMK during a campaign rally in Tirunelveli, alleging that if Chief Minister M K Stalin had "full powers", the event would not have happened.

"The CM would have put some kind of obstacle and prevented us from coming. But now, this is a "caretaker government," as it is called, and he's a CM without authority," Vijay said.

Dubbing the DMK-led bloc a "cash-box alliance", the actor-turned-politician alleged it was formed using "looted" money. He claimed the constituent parties lack internal unity, stating that "people in the alliance won't even cast vote for each other".

Taking a swipe at the grand old party, Vijay alleged that the DMK had "pocketed" the Tamil Nadu Congress by "giving crores". However, he asserted that the "real Congress" stands on the TVK's side.

Characterising his party's deep connection with its cadres, Vijay remarked, "This might be just an election for others, but for those with TVK, this is an emotion."