Loose wire on road turns engagement day into day of mourning for Bengaluru family

Bengaluru: What should have been a joyous celebration turned into a nightmare for a Bengaluru family after a dangling roadside cable allegedly claimed the life of a 30-year-old businessman a day before his engagement.Vishal M Lunawat, a dry fruits trader and resident of Chamarajpet, was preparing to begin a new chapter in life Monday, with relatives gathering and his engagement arrangements in full swing. Instead, his family spent the day performing his last rites after a freak late-night accident near the CID headquarters signal, barely 200 metres from Vidhana Soudha.According to family members, Vishal and his cousin were returning towards Kumara Park after dinner in Jayanagar Sunday night when a loose white wire, allegedly hanging across the road, got entangled with their motorcycle moments after they crossed the signal. “The wire got stuck in the bike while we were moving. He (Vishal) lost control and we skidded,” recalled the cousin, who did not want to be named.The cousin suffered minor injuries to his hands and legs, while Vishal sustained a severe injury to his left knee after the motorcycle fell on him. Despite the impact, Vishal was conscious and speaking after the fall. “He immediately told us something was wrong with his leg and that he couldn’t walk,” the cousin told TOI.The family rushed him to a nearby hospital, where X-rays revealed a fracture near his knee. As relatives attempted to shift him to another hospital for orthopaedic treatment, Vishal suddenly lost consciousness while being helped into a car. “We don’t know what happened. He collapsed and never woke up again,” the cousin said.The sudden turn of events has left the family devastated, particularly because Vishal’s engagement was scheduled for Monday. Family members, many of whom had already assembled for the ceremony, instead gathered for his funeral.The cousin alleged that the accident was triggered by a loose overhead wire that had fallen on the road and remained at the spot even after the incident. A video clip shared by the family shows a long white cable hanging and tangled by the roadside.Family blames civic apathyThe death ofVishal M Lunawat in a freak bike accident has sparked outrage among his family members, who accused civic authorities of ignoring hazardous conditions on roads despite repeated complaints from citizens.Calling the incident a “preventable tragedy,” the family said loose overhead wires and poor road maintenance have become a dangerous reality across the city, putting motorists’ lives at risk every day. “This is a very basic civic issue. Wires should not be lying on roads like this. This played a very big part in what happened. The main reason behind his death was the accident on the road,” said Vishal’s cousin, who was riding pillion Sunday night.Recalling the moments after the crash, he said the situation could have turned even deadlier. “In fact, there was a bus coming behind us. The driver applied brakes at the right time,” he added.The cousin claimed the family had encountered similar dangerous incidents involving hanging cables in the past as well.Akshay, another family member, lashed out at what he described as selective enforcement and corruption within civic agencies. “If anyone constructs a building with his hard-earned money, the Greater Bengaluru Authority reaches there like goons and stops the work in such a way that the citizen is forced to first go and settle a bribe... But when it comes to hanging wires, garbage, bad roads, they turn blind, which results in tragedy for someone,” he alleged.Arun Jain, another relative, criticised the lack of accountability and the civic complaints mechanism, claiming that repeated complaints often go unresolved. “In no other country do we see such hanging cables. What is the meaning of no action taken by GBA? Anti-corruption agencies should wake up, sincerely take up cases suo motu, and expose without any political pressure,” he said.The family has demanded accountability from civic authorities, alleging that negligence and failure to address basic infrastructure hazards ultimately cost Vishal his life.