Former MP and actor Nandamuri Harikrishna’s son Janakiram was killed in a ghastly road accident near Akupamula crossroads on the Hyderabad-Vijayawda highway on Saturday evening.
He is survived by wife and a son.
Mr. Janakiram, who was into film production, was on his way to Vijayawada in his Tata Safari vehicle, which rammed an oncoming tractor around 6.45 p.m., police said. The tractor was coming in the wrong direction.
A profusely bleeding Janakiram was rushed in a ‘108’ vehicle to a nearby hospital, where he breathed his last.
The accident was apparently because of the negligence of the tractor driver, who drove the vehicle against the stream of oncoming vehicles.
Police and eyewitnesses said minutes before he breathed his last, Mr. Janakiram gave the contact number of his brother Kalyanram to the ambulance staff and urged them to pass on the information about him.
According to Suryapet DSP Abdul Rasheed, Mr. Janakiram was driving the vehicle and was wedged between the steering and the driver’s seat. Police said he was alone in the vehicle.
KCR expresses shock
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Minister G. Jagadishwar Reddy expressed shock over the death and offered their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.
The death sent shockwaves in political circles and a pall of gloom descended on the house of Mr. Harikrishna at Masab Tank in Hyderabad.
Naidu cancels official meetings
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu cancelled his official meetings and along with his wife Bhuvaneswari rushed to Mr. Harikrishna’s residence to console the family members. A little later, Mr. Harikrishna’s younger son, NTR Jr joined them.
Janakiram had produced a couple of films under NTR Arts banner including Athanokkadu in which his brother Kalyanram made his debut as a hero.
Janakiram always preferred to be in the background and stood like a rock behind Kalyanram.
With acting running in the family, Janakiram also inspired his son Taraka Ram to act in the children’s film Dana Veera Shura Karna.