In a tragic road accident on Saturday morning, the Vice-Chancellor of Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek (Maharashtra), Professor Hareram Tripathi (58), and his wife Badami Devi (52) lost their lives.
The accident took place near Ahirani Buzurg petrol pump on the Varanasi-Gorakhpur Highway (NH-29) in Mau district.
According to reports, Prof. Tripathi was driving his Innova car from Varanasi to his native place in Kushinagar along with his wife and driver, Vaibhav Mishra (28).
Near Doharighat, the driver reportedly began to feel drowsy. Prof. Tripathi asked him to rest on the back seat and took the wheel himself.
Shortly after, due to a momentary lapse likely caused by fatigue, the vehicle lost control and rammed into a stationary trailer parked on the roadside. The collision was so severe that despite the deployment of airbags, both Prof. Tiwari and his wife died on the spot. His wife was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown off her seat due to the impact.
Driver Vaibhav Mishra was seriously injured in the crash and briefly lost consciousness. Upon regaining consciousness, he called the police for help. The local police reached the scene and had to cut open the vehicle to retrieve the bodies and the injured driver.
ASP Anoop Kumar stated that an investigation is underway, and no formal complaint has been lodged yet. Once a written complaint is received, action will be taken against the trailer driver, if found at fault.
Professor Hareram Tripathi was a prominent Sanskrit scholar with an illustrious academic and administrative career: He was currently posted as Vice-Chancellor, Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek (Nagpur), Maharashtra.
Earlier, he was Vice-Chancellor, of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Philosophy, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, New Delhi along with Founder and Director, Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Centre, Department of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh Government.
He received several awards including Shankar Award (Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan, Lucknow), Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman (Presidential Award, 2003), Paniniya Award (2013), Vishisht Puraskar (2018), Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Alankaran (2021–22), Purvanchal Gaurav Award, and Gangeshopadhyay International Honor. He was also author o 13 books and edited 21 publications.
The academic community across India mourns the loss of a respected scholar and educationist. Prof. Tripathi’s contributions to Sanskrit literature and Indian knowledge traditions will be remembered for years to come.