New Delhi: Popular Kannada actress Sharmiela Mandre and her friend named K Lokesh Vasanth have sustained injuries after the car in which they were travelling in the wee hours of Saturday (April 4) crashed into a pillar of the railway underbridge in Vasanthnagar, Bengaluru. The incident reportedly took place at round 3am. According to reports, a man falsely claimed to have been driving the car, and urged the police to not register a case. He then left the spot.

Sharmiela Mandre and her friend then got admitted to a private hospital on Cunningham Road & got discharged later.

“We don’t know how the car hit the pillars in underbridge if the accident has taken place in JP Nagar. According to doctors, it is suspected that the duo was under the influence but a report yet to come,” a Deccan Herald report quotes the police as saying.

Reportedly, a case has been registered against Sharmiela and her friend Vasanth under the National Disaster Management Act in High Grounds Traffic police station as they didn’t had the proper authorisation to drive their car during the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown. The duo has been booked under three sections - 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 134B of the Motor Vehicle Act.

During investigation, Sharmiela reportedly revealed that she wanted to buy some medicines and had called her friend to drive her around (during lockdown) as he had a vehicle pass.

Keep watching this space for more updates!