A relative of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been arrested for allegedly causing a fatal road accident on Sunday morning near Olakur in Villupuram district in which a 39-year-old man had died.
The Villupuram district police, in a media release said, the accused Aravind (32), hailing from Chennai, is a nephew of Sitharaman. He was arrested following scrutiny of CCTV footage in the GST road.
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He has been taken to Olakkur police station for inquiry.
The incident occurred when the deceased, D Narayanasamy (39) and his wife, Meena (31), of Konganathal village, were proceeding in a scooty to the famed Melmalayanur temple in a scooty. Melmalayanur is an important pilgrim centre which draws huge crowds from far and near.
When the couple were nearing the Ongur bridge, a rashly driven car coming towards Chennai in the opposite direction, had hit the scooty, leaving the duo in a pool of blood and sped away. While the husband died on the spot, the wife is battling for life at the Acharapakkam Government hospital, the release said.
On a complaint by D Krishnan, elder brother of the deceased, the Olakkur police registered a case and zeroed in on the accused after scrutinising CCTV footage. The accused Ashwin, a resident of AGS colony in Chennai, was driving an Audi involved in the accident, police said adding that he is the son of Sitharaman’s mother’s younger sister.