Mangaluru: Death comes likes a thief, goes a saying. A social worker, on his way to recite prayers in a prayer-house in the city died of injuries sustained in a freak road mishap on Monday evening.
M C Abbas
M C Abbas (74), who had served as additional personal assistant to P M Sayeed, former Union minister and former deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, was on his way to a mosque near Attavar on Monday. As he waited to cross the road near Sky Bakery, an autorickshaw suddenly stopped his vehicle as a passenger waved at him.
A motorbike-rider behind it could not stop immediately and rammed into the rickshaw. He lost balance and the bike swerved to a side, knocking down Abbas who was standing on the roadside. He was thrown to the concrete road and got injured in the head.
Although immediately admitted to a hospital and kept in the ICU, he succumbed to the injuries in the early hours of Tuesday. Negligent and irresponsible driving by the autorickshaw driver has been blamed for the mishap.
The late P M Sayeed, although he hailed from Lakshadweep islands, had studied in the then Government College in the city, now known as University College, and had here. He and Abbas were close friends in the college.
When Sayeed ultimately went on to become the Lok Sabha deputy speaker and Union home minister, he handpicked Abbas to be his additional PA.
Abbas lived in Delhi because of this assignment for about ten years and later settled down in the city again. He had engaged himself in social service all through his retirement years and was active right till his last day, according to his close associates.