An innocent pastime turned into a horrible tragedy for two little children on Friday morning.
The two children were watching a TV film shoot when they were knocked down by a car driven by TV actress B. Archana in a gated community in Chandanagar.
Five-year-old E.Satvik Reddy died on the spot while eight-year-old Swatika sustained severe leg injuries and is under treatment in Mythri hospital in Chandanagar.
According to Chandanagar police, Satvik, who studied in lower kindergarten, and his neighbour Swatika were sitting on the steps near a garden when Archana’s car crashed into the pavement at 10.30 am, before hitting them.
A police officer said, “The crew was shooting for a television serial Indrani for Gemini TV. They were shooting on the premises for about two-and-a-half years for the daily serial without any prior permission.”
Sources said the crew was shooting the scene of an acid attack for an upcoming episode which required the actress to drive a car. Police say the actress did not have a driving licence and did not know how to drive a car. She was driving the car with the help of a crew member and pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. Archana admits she does not know how to drive, but since the scene demanded that she does so, she obliged and the accident was not her fault. “It was unfortunate and unexpected since I pressed the accelerator instead of the brakes. The director asked me to drive with the help of a crew member for the shot. It happened unexpectedly. I drove the car with the driver besides me,” she said. The Tata Indica car bearing number AP39-CA-4902 used in the shooting is not even registered in the Road Transport Authority records. Every rule in the book seems to have been subverted causing the death of an innocent child.
Satvik’s father E. Srinivas Reddy is grief-stricken. “Satvik went to play with his friends in the park around 10.30, when the incident happened. The actress has admitted her mistake and has been taken into custody. We have lodged a complaint against the shooting crew,” he managed to say in a very low voice.
Police have taken Archana and the production manager Venkateswar Rao into their custody and booked cases under 304A (rash and negligent driving amounting to death) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) against the actress, production manager, producer, director and the driver assisting the actress.