The death of BRS MLA G Lasya Nanditha in a road accident near Patancheru on Friday morning has once again raised questions about road safety as she was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered fatal injuries. The 37-year-old MLA had been involved in another accident just ten days ago, which resulted in the death of a home guard.

According to the Sangareddy Police, the MLA was travelling in an SUV with temporary registration and was on her way back from Basara when the crash took place around 5.30 am near Patancheru. Her vehicle was the only one involved in the crash. The driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, causing the vehicle, which was moving at high speed, to crash into the railing on the left side. The front portion of the SUV was completely mangled. Her driver and personal security officer (PSO) were critically injured while the MLA suffered severe head injuries and succumbed on the spot. She was seated at the rear and not wearing a seatbelt. The post-mortem conducted at Gandhi Hospital revealed the extent of her horrific injuries, including a fractured leg and ribs. Police are investigating whether the vehicle had hit a cement mixer before crashing into the metal barrier.

On 13 February, Nanditha had a narrow escape when a drunk driver crashed into her vehicle on the Narketpally-Addanki State Highway on the outskirts of Nalgonda while returning from a public rally addressed by BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao. A home guard from the Narketpally Police Station, who was directing traffic, died in the crash. Last year, soon after being elected, Nanditha got stuck in a malfunctioning elevator while taking part in the inauguration of a hospital in Bolarum. She escaped unhurt. Similar road accidents had taken the lives of TDP leader and NTR’s son N Harikrishna in 2018 and YSRCP leader Bhuma Sobha Nagireddy in 2014. Both tragedies occurred when the vehicles were moving at high speed and the passengers had not fastened their seat belts.

Incidentally, her father G Sayanna, who was a five-time MLA from Secunderabad Cantonment, first as a TDP candidate and then on a BRS ticket, died in February last year. The BRS had then nominated her from the same seat during the 2023 Assembly polls which she won by securing 59,057 votes defeating her nearest rival and BJP candidate N Sri Ganesh by nearly 18,000 votes.

The MLA is survived by her mother and two elder sisters. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and BRS working president KT Rama Rao expressed their condolences.