Hyderabad: How important are seat belts?
Mumbai Police DCP and senior IPS officer Sudhakar Pathare has provided the answer, though in an extremely tragic way.
Pathare, DCP of the Mumbai Port Zone, and his friend were killed in what appears to be an accident in Nagarkurnool, Telangana on Saturday morning.
None of them were wearing seatbelts.
“They would certainly have stood a better chance had they used the seatbelts. Their bodies wouldn’t have been thrown forward against the windshield and the airbags would have inflated,” an officer present at the spot said.
It will never be known how many people Pathare may have booked, or at least admonished, during his career as a police officer, for not wearing seatbelts. Finally, he committed the cardinal error.
The IPS officer and his friend were on a private trip to the Mallanna Deva Temple in Srisailam, Telangana, when the accident occurred. The two had set off from Hyderabad in a Toyota Innova, considered a very dependable vehicle for long road trips, provided all rules are followed.
“The accident occurred near the Domalapenta Village in the Nallamala Forest area of the Ghat Road on the Srisailam-Hyderabad National Highway. A state transport corporation bus smashed into their vehicle head on. The front portion of the SUV was totally wrecked but the interiors of the vehicle didn’t seem too badly damaged. The windshield was a message though. This could be due to the impact of the bodies of the two occupants as they shot forward at tremendous speed. Further investigation is underway,” the officer said.
All efforts were made by a private ambulance and the occupants of a police vehicle to revive Pathare and his friend, but they were dead by the time they reached the nearest hospital. The driver of the bus from the Picket Depot is being questioned. So are passengers and locals.
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom has descended on the Mumbai Police as preparations began to take back Pathare’s body back after an autopsy. Senior officers are with his family to console them at this time of crisis.
Since 2024, all governments in the country have started to act strict on the use of seatbelts. Vehicle manufacturers have also been directed to install seatbelt alarms for rear seats from April 1, 2025. After that, passengers not wearing seatbelts while occupying the rear seats, will be fined.
