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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Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.

The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.

According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.

The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.

After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.

"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.

"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.

The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.

After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.

"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.