A 46-year-old proprietor of a software company from Bengaluru was among five members of his family, including his two children and niece, who died in a vehicle accident on Saturday in the outskirts of Bengaluru. The accident took place on the national highway near Nelamangala, just a few kilometres from Begur, shortly after 11 am.
The deceased have been identified as Chandram Yegapagol, his wife Gaurabai, aged 40, their children Gyaan, 16, and Deeksha, 10, his sister-in-law Vijayalakshmi, 35, and his niece Arya, 6. Yegapagol was the Managing Director and CEO of the IAST Software Solutions Private Ltd, located in HSR Layout, Bengaluru, where the family also resided.
According to Bengaluru Rural police, Yegapagol and his family were travelling to his native village in Morbagi, located in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, which borders Vijayapura district in Karnataka. They were enroute to visit his ailing father and to celebrate the Christmas holidays when a speeding container truck veered into their lane, colliding with their car. Yegapagol had purchased the vehicle only two months back.
The impact of the crash resulted in the instant deaths of all the occupants. The preliminary investigation revealed that the Eicher truck, which was carrying aluminium pillars weighing several tonnes, was travelling towards Bengaluru. According to the police, the driver lost control of the vehicle while attempting to avoid a collision with another vehicle ahead of him. The truck, travelling at high speed, lost its balance, crossed over the median, and hit the car, which was heading in the opposite direction towards Tumakuru.
“The truck also struck a tempo before coming to a halt. The tempo sustained minimal damage,” said a police officer. The horrifying moment when the truck crushed the car was captured in nearby CCTV cameras and the police are currently analysing the footage.
A criminal case has been filed against the driver, who survived the crash and is receiving treatment at a hospital. Bengaluru Rural Superintendent of Police, CK Baba, has appointed the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Nelamangala) to lead the investigation.
A relative of Yegapagol recounted that the family had spoken to him just 30 minutes before the accident. “He was my cousin. Since there wasn’t enough space in the car, we didn’t travel with them. My father spoke to them about half an hour before the crash, and Yegapagol mentioned they were nearing Tumakuru. That was the last time we spoke to them,” the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, shared.
According to Yegapagol’s LinkedIn profile, he held a diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from GPT Gulbarga and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK Surathkal). Over the course of his career, Yegapagol held senior positions at major companies such as Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, KPIT Technologies, and Great Wall Motor in China, before founding IAST Software Solutions in Bengaluru in 2018.
The company’s website states that it has a team of over 100 skilled engineers based globally, with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai, China, and strategic partners in France and Japan. Sources close to the family have confirmed that Yegapagol had recently expanded the business to Pune.
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