Union Minister Gopinath Munde, who was involved in a car accident here Tuesday, died of "shock and hemorrhage", according to the preliminary autopsy report submitted by AIIMS to Delhi Police, officials said Wednesday."In this case (it) is a shock and hemorrhage consequent upon blunt ante-mortem injuries to the neck and liver," said the report that was submitted Tuesday night to police.The report, a copy of which is with IANS, added that these types of injuries are commonly seen in road traffic accidents.The report says there were two internal injuries in abdomen and neck due to the forceful impact of the accident. “There was fracture separation of cervical vertebra between C1 and C2 (atlanto-axial joint) associated with transaction of spinal cord. The wound was associated with laceration of vertebral artery with other neck vessels and muscles and hemantoma measuring about 1,000 cc," it said.
The atlanto-axial joint is a joint in the upper part of the neck between the first and second cervical vertebrae.According to experts, this joint is the highest joint in the spinal column and it lies just at the base of the skull. And thus in view of its proximity to the brain stem and importance in stabilisation, fracture or injury at this level can be catastrophic.Doctors said Munde’s neck snapped due to the force of the accident.The post-mortem examination report also said: “Peritoneal (or lining of the abdominal) cavity contained about 500 ml of fluid and clotted blood. The liver had lacerations of size 5x1 cm over right lobe at lower lateral aspect, contused lacerated wound of size 5x3 cm present over left lobe involving upper and posterior aspect.”
The report stated that there was aberration, reddish in colour, present over the nose, and that another aberration was present over lateral and below to right eye.According to police, Munde's hair sample has also been collected from the Maruti Suzuki SX4 car he was travelling in as forensic evidence.Munde, 64, senior BJP leader and union rural development minister, was going to the Indira Gandhi International Airport to catch a flight to Mumbai when his car was hit by a Tata Indica on the Prithviraj Road five-point crossing around 6.20 a.m.Munde's personal security officer (PSO) Surender Nayar was sitting in the front next to the driver, Virender Kumar, and the minister was seated behind him on the rear seat. The Tata Indica skidded over 30 feet and hit Munde's Maruti Suzuki SX4 with great force on the side where he was seated. Munde was accorded a state funeral and his mortal remains were consigned to the flames in Parali-Vaijnath, his birthplace in Beed district, Wednesday afternoon.