Belagavi: Minister for Women and Child Welfare, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, and her brother, Legislative Council member Channaraj Hattiholi, were involved in a car accident early this morning near Ambadgatti village in Kittur taluk.

The accident occurred around 6 a.m. Reports indicate that Minister Hebbalkar sustained minor injuries, while Channaraj Hattiholi suffered a head injury. Both were immediately admitted to a private hospital in Belagavi for treatment.

The incident took place as the minister and her brother were returning to Belagavi by car late last night after attending a legislative party meeting in Bengaluru. The accident reportedly occurred when a dog suddenly came onto the road near Ambadgatti village. In an attempt to avoid hitting the dog, the car went out of control and collided with a tree.

The impact left the front portion of the car severely damaged.

Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar S Guled, inspected the spot and visited the hospital in which the minister is being treated. The minister's mother and other family members visited her and inquired about her.

Police said that home minister G Parameshwar made a phone call to Ms Hebbalkar's son Mrinal Hebbalkar and inquired about her health. Dr Parameshwar has instructed officers to take the utmost care about the minister, a police officer said.

"The minister has suffered minor injuries , and is stable. She does not need longer hospital stay," a doctor who is treating the minister said.

"The minister has suffered some injuries in the neck and back, but she does not need intensive treatment. She will be alright in a few days. Ms Hebbalkar's CT scan and MRI showed that L1 and L4 in her spinal cord had received minor injuries. There is no need to worry as she was responding to treatment. But she needs to rest for four weeks,'' Ravi Patil, orthopaedic surgeon and head of VOTC hospital, told reporters in Belagavi on Tuesday.

"Mr Hattiholi has suffered a minor head injury. He has gone home after being treated as an out patient. He will come back for some additional treatment. He will need to rest for a week to allow healing,'' Dr Patil said.

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Colombo, May 11 (PTI): India displayed absolute dominance to crush Sri Lanka by 97 runs and earn a well-deserved title triumph in the Women's Tri-Nation ODI series after vice-captain Smriti Mandhana's sublime century and the bowlers' collective effort in the title clash here on Sunday.

After Mandhana rose to the occasion to power India to a commanding 342 for seven, the bowlers completed the task by bundling out Sri Lanka for 245, with Sneh Rana (4/38) and Amanjot Kaur (3/54) doing the bulk of the damage.

Skipper Chamari Athapaththu (51 off 66 balls) and Nilakshika Silva (48 off 58) were the chief contributors for the hosts.

Earlier, battling cramps in humid conditions, elegant left-hander Mandhana, who had returned to form with a fifty in India's last match against South Africa, struck a majestic 116 off 101 balls to lay the foundation for India's imposing total after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bat.

Her knock was laced with 15 fours and two sixes, including four successive boundaries off Athapaththu to bring up her 11th ODI hundred in style.

After the early dismissal of Pratika Rawal for 30, Mandhana shifted gears smoothly.

The stylish Mandhana made Sri Lanka pay for dropping her on 21 as was involved in two big partnerships - 70 for the first wicket with Pratika and 120 for the second with Harleen Deol.

She brought up her 32nd ODI fifty with a stylish sweep behind square.

The left-hander added 120 runs in 106 balls with Harleen (47 off 56; 4x4) for the second wicket to steady the innings before falling while attempting a lofted cover drive.

But her dismissal set the stage for a strong finish as Jemimah Rodrigues, coming off a career-best 123 against South Africa, smashed a quick-fire 44 off 29 balls (4x4), while Harmanpreet contributed a brisk 41 off 30 (4x4, 1x6) as India piled on 90 runs in the last 10 overs.

There was a brief phase where India looked to have lost steam in the final overs, but cameos from Deepti Sharma (20 not out off 14) and Amanjot Kaur (18 off 12) helped them surge past 340.

For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari was the pick of their bowlers with 2/59, while Dewmi Vihanga (2/69) and Malki Madara (2/74) also picked two wickets each.

Set a formidable target, the home team needed a strong start, but instead, they lost Hasini Perera to Amanjot in only the third ball of the Sri Lankan innings.

Attempting to play through mid-off, Perera ended up playing down the wrong line as the ball crashed onto the off-stump.

Sri Lanka were one down without a run on the board and an onerous task awaited the duo of captain Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne (36 off 41 balls).

They seemed to be succeeding, as Athapaththu and Vishmi put Sri Lanka's chase back on track after the early blow. The pair negated the difficult phase well before opening up to hit boundaries.

However, Deepti's introduction put the brakes on Lankan scoring as the senior off-spinner bowled three economical overs on the trot before Amanjot gave India their second breakthrough by bowling Vishmi around her legs after the batter had shuffled a long way across.

India could have had another wicket but wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, standing up to debutant pacer Kranti Goud, could not hold to an edge from Athapaththu when she was on 25.

Kranti then missed a catch off her own bowling after Nilakshi's leading edge off a slower delivery.

However, soon after getting to her fifty, Athapaththu was bowled by Rana, who dropped the batter off her own bowling in her previous over.

With the required run rate mounting, the match was as good as over after Nilakshika's dismissal to Rana.