Hyderabad biker on Rs 25 lakh BMW Adventure dies in highway crash; how dash to catch India-Pakistan game turned fatal

HYDERABAD: Shortly before the fatal crash in Chityal on Sunday afternoon, professional motocross rider Ritesh Reddy split from the group of bikers he had been travelling with. He set off alone for Hyderabad, as he needed to catch a flight from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) to Sri Lanka to watch the high-stakes India–Pakistan cricket match.

Police are still probing the circumstances in which the accident involving Ritesh, a close relative of a prominent cement factory owner, occurred while he was riding a high-end BMW 1,300cc Adventure bike priced at over Rs 25 lakh.

"While returning from Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh, Ritesh was part of a group of riders. They all travelled together until Suryapet district, where they planned to take a break at a popular food court on the National Highway-65 after refuelling their bikes. However, Ritesh, who had limited time to reach Hyderabad to board his flight to watch the India–Pakistan match, chose to continue alone," Narketpalli circle inspector (CI) Nagaraju told TOI.

After travelling about 50 kilometres, when Ritesh was near Chityal in Nalgonda district, he met with an accident and died. Investigators said they are yet to determine the cause of the accident.

"Although the bike has cameras at the front and rear, the memory card is being handed over to BMW authorities to access the footage. Police attempted to retrieve it but were unsuccessful, so we have to seek the company's assistance," Chityal SI Ravi Kumar told TOI.

According to the complaint lodged by the deceased's family members, they suspect it could be a case of hit-and-run.

"His family are confident that Ritesh was a trained biker with extensive international experience and was known for taking all necessary precautions and avoiding risks to his life. There are no CCTV cameras on the highway at the accident site. When enquiries were made with a few people near the spot, they stated that they had not seen any other vehicle on the road, apart from a motorcycle. The investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of death," police said.

Police noticed several metres of scratch marks on the road from where the bike had veered off before Ritesh suffered fatal injuries. He sustained multiple injuries, primarily to his head.

Ritesh and nearly 50 other high-end bikers from various parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had travelled to Bapatla on Friday. After staying in the coastal area until Sunday morning, they began their return journey, during which Ritesh met with the accident.