Chennai: Yashika Aannand, a South Indian actor and model, suffered severe injuries while her friend Vallichetti Bhavani died on Sunday morning when their car met with an accident on the scenic East Coast Road near Chennai.
Yashika, a model turned actor, had starred as the leading lady in Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda’s (Arjun Reddy fame) NOTA movie. She has also acted in a few Tamil films and became a middle class household name when she participated in the TV show Bigg Boss anchored by actor-politician Kamal Haasan.
Police said Yashika, Bhavani and two of their male friends were travelling to Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – where the Indo-China diplomatic meet was held – to see the famous sculptures when the accident occurred. Bhavani, a software engineer working in the United States, who had come down on a visit, was killed while Yashika and the others sustained injuries.
Police said the car was driven by Yashika and suspected that the vehicle was on a high speed drive. She allegedly lost control of the vehicle and hit the median before the vehicle capsized.
Passersby had rescued the occupants of the car and rushed them to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared Bhavani “dead on arrival”. The other three including the actor were shifted to a private hospital in Chennai for further treatment.
