NEW DELHI – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s estranged wife, Jashodaben, had a narrow escape when a car she was travelling in rammed a truck on a national highway on Wednesday.
Of the seven occupants of the vehicle, one died and three others were injured. The vehicle was completely smashed. The family was travelling from Atru in Baran to a place called Unjha in Gujarat, the NDTV reported.
Jashodaben, her bodyguard and the driver suffered minor injuries in the accident near Chittor, Rajasthan.
Police have launched an inquiry to find out what caused the accident.
Jashodaben, a retired schoolteacher who does not live with Mr Modi, married him in 1967 when he was 17 years old.
Modi publicly admitted his marriage for the first time in 2014 when he filed his nomination papers as the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party which went on to win the election.
Critics have accused him of deserting his wife after he joined the Hindu nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which prizes celibacy.
They say the fact that he refused to acknowledge her for so long is a telltale sign of his attitude towards women.
