GEORGE TOWN: V. Harikrishnan, owner of the famous Sri Anandha Bahwan chain of restaurants, and his family were involved in a traffic accident near Taiping today.
The crash killed his wife, K. Puvaneswary, 47, and left Harikrishnan, 51, and his two sons injured.
The family were in their Range Rover driven by Harikrishnan, and headed from Taiping to Penang when they met with an accident at KM200.9 of the North-South Expressway about 3am.
Puvaneswary was seated in the backseat. Their son Veerasamy, 21, was seated at the front passenger seat while their other son, Mehgulan, 17, was at the back.
It is understood that the car crashed into a tree by the roadside.
The impact killed Puvaneswary on the spot while their sons sustained injuries on their knees and hands.
Harikrishnan sustained injuries to his face and also broke his right finger.
A post-mortem examination conducted on Puvaneswary revealed that she died of a severe traumatic head injury.
Harikrishnan is currently admitted in a private hospital here.
Meanwhile, staff of the iconic Indian banana leaf chain of restaurants were in grief following the accident.
Checks by the New Straits Times at the restaurant’s Little India branch this afternoon showed several staff, clad in the trademark orange T-shirt, standing outside the closed outlet.
A banner, bearing a photograph of Puvaneswary, was on display at the front of the restaurant.
It is understood that Sri Anandha Bahwan’s restaurants nationwide would be closed for three days from today as a mark of respect to the deceased.
Passers-by were seen approaching the staff for details.
"Some of our customers came to ask about the closure, so we told them that our restaurant will close for operations for a few days as a mark of respect to our boss's family.
"We were preparing to open our outlet early this morning when we were told of the tragic news. It was difficult for all of us to take the news," said a staff who declined to be named.
NST went to the hospital this afternoon to interview relatives but to no avail.
Sri Anandha Bahwan was first established by Harikrishnan's mother, Radhaby, in 1991 at Jalan Bagan Luar in Butterworth as an enterprise.
The business then quickly picked up, compelling her two sons Harikrishnan and Selvaraj to quit their studies and take care of the business.
From its humble beginnings of just one restaurant, they now have over 15 outlets nationwide.