Tamil Nadu health minister’s personal assistant dies in road accident

TRICHY: Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijaya Baskar’s personal assistant and driver died on the spot when a sport utility vehicle they were travelling in rammed a roadside tree near Illuppur in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as the minister’s personal assistant R Venkatesh, 31, and driver P Selvam, 39.
The accident happened at Veera Perumalpatti when they were returning to Pudukkottai after dropping Vijaya Baskar at Trichy airport. The minister was going to Chennai.
Venkatesh was married and had a one-year-old child, police said. Venkatesh’s mother, R Indira, was elected as president of Paambur panchayat in the recent polls.
Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami condoled the deaths of Venkatesh and Selvam.