Indian politician falls off from moving car in UAE, dies

An accident that killed a woman politician from Kerala in Sharjah on Tuesday once again highlighted the importance of wearing seat belts while travelling in the backseat of a car.

According to sources, 40-year-old Sunitha Prashanth was killed on Tuesday after falling from a moving car on Dhaid Road in Sharjah, hitting her head on a lamppost. The accident was confirmed by Sharjah Police.

Sunitha, hailing from Adukkath Vayal beach area in Kasaragod district, was working as a beautician in a salon in Sharjah for the last five years. She was a councillor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kasaragod municipality and was a candidate in the Uduma constituency during the state assembly polls in 2011, said Ganesh Aramanganam, president of Indian People's Forum in Sharjah.

According to Ganesh, Sunitha was staying in an apartment in the same building as the salon, along with other colleagues.

"On Tuesday, as there was pesticide sprayed in their flat, they were advised to stay away for some three hours. So the owner of the salon took all the staff in her car on a trip.

"As they



were travelling on Dhaid Road, the car's door opened and Sunitha fell out of the car. Unfortunately, her head hit on a lamppost and died on the spot."

As the owner of the salon, who was driving the car, looked back to see what happened, the vehicle swerved off the road and crashed into the divider, injuring all others in the car, said Ganesh.

The woman owner of the salon has been detained by the police, he said, adding that Sunitha's body is in the morgue of Dhaid Hospital.

"Her head was totally smashed up on impact," he added.

Sunitha was very active in Kerala politics and chose to come to the UAE five years ago due to her family's financial issues after she got the job offer through a friend. In Sharjah, she used to attend the meetings of the Indian People's Forum, said Ganesh.

She is survived by husband Prashanth and two children.

"Her husband was in Kerala, but came here on a three-month visit last month. He was staying in a room in Bur Dubai," he added.

The body will be repatriated to her hometown once the legal formalities are over, said Ganesh.