Hema Malini injured in road accident, 4-year-old killed

Veteran Bollywood actress and Indian lawmaker Hema Malini was involved in an accident late Thursday which killed a 4-year-old girl and left the actress mildly injured.

The actress was rushed to a local hospital sustaining minor injuries after her Mercedes reportedly rammed into an alto in Rajasthan.

The actress underwent medical scans upon reaching the hospital and television footage showed her bleeding on the forehead area above the right eye.

“Hema has injuries above her eyes, on her back and legs. I drove her to the hospital in my car. She was in pain,”  local state lawmaker Shankar Lal Sharma told reporters.

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“One girl child has died in the accident,” he added.

The girl was identified as Sonam, aged 4.

According to the Hindustan Times, family members of a toddler who died in the accident accused the administration of lavishing all their attention on the VIP while ignoring others who were injured.

Anguished family members of the Khandelwals said prompt medical aid to the injured could have saved the life of the young girl.

“Two kinds of treatment are being given to victims of the same accident. Hema Malini was immediately taken to the Fortis Hospital, while our family-members were sent to Sawai Man Singh Hospital, where treatment was given very late,” said Rajiv Gupta, a relative of Khandelwal.

There were five occupants in the Alto -- two women, two children and a man, a Dausa district official said.

The girl died while two others were seriously injured, they were rushed to the hospital and are currently undergoing surgery .

PHOTO: PTI

One source claims that the actress is all right and fully conscious. "She has received a minor injury and there is nothing to worry. It is a minor injury on the forehead. Doctors are going for all sorts of medical examination, including a CT scan, they don't want to take any sort of risk.

"She is fully conscious, she is all right," he said.

Hema Malini's driver Mahesh Thakur has been arrested. He was allegedly speeding a Mercedes that belonged to the 66-year-old actress.

Read: 11 killed in road accident in Rawalpindi

One of the most controversial road accidents in B-Town is Salman's hit-and-run case. Facing multiple charges, Bollywood “bad boy” Salman Khan denied that he was driving under influence on the night of the 2002 accident that killed a pavement dweller and left four others injured.

Salman has been accused of losing control of his SUV after a night of drinking rum and cocktails at an upmarket bar in Mumbai in 2002 and fleeing the scene.

After years of court hearings and legal hold-ups, the Bollywood megastar was granted bail by Mumbai's High Court.

Read: Tragic accident: Boy drowns in canal

Deadly traffic accidents are common in India, with more than 200,000 fatalities annually, according to the World Health Organization, reported AFP.

Last year, BJP MP Gopinath Munde was killed in an accident in New Delhi, barely a week after taking up his new post as rural affairs minister in Modi’s right-wing cabinet.

Transport analysts attribute the huge number of accidents to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.