The 27-year-old son of state minister for food and cooperation Sellur K Raju died early on Monday of injuries sustained earlier in a road accident on NSC Bose Road. Around 11.50pm on Sunday, police said, R Tamizhmani was riding his Enfield bike (TN-59 AU 9555) to Broadway from Parry's Corner when the vehicle hit a speed breaker on NSC Bose Road.
He lost control and was thrown to the ground. "He was not wearing a helmet and suffered severe injuries to the head. He was also injured in the chest," said a traffic official. Alerted of the incident by a few shop-keepers in the area, police rushed to the spot and took him to the Government General Hospital from where he was shifted to a private hospital.
He was admitted at the hospital around 1.30am and was put on a ventilator. He died without responding to the treatment around 2.20am. After a post-mortem at Government General Hospital his body was taken to Madurai, his home town, police said.
The Elephant Gate traffic investigation police who initially registered a case under IPC section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) later altered the section to 304 A (causing death by negligence).
Tamizhmani, the only son of Sellur K Raju, completed his diploma in yoga and was teaching yoga, police sources said. Tamzhilmani was living with his father, mother and two sisters at the ministers' quarters on Greenways Road, Chennai.
An official press release said that chief minister J Jayalalithaa spoke over the phone to the bereaved family and expressed her condolences, while minister Natham R Viswanathan placed a wreath on her behalf. Several ministers and MLAs paid their last respects