India police tighten Jolie's security

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their adopted son Maddox in an autorickshaw earlier this month. Picture / Reuters

NEW DELHI - Indian police have stepped up security for Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie after a car in her convoy was involved in an accident in which a motorcyclist was slightly hurt.

The car was carrying members of the film crew shooting A Mighty Heart, which stars Jolie, when it collided with the motorcycle in the western city of Pune on Wednesday, police said.

Nineteen-year-old Mittal Rawat who was on the bike suffered minor injuries, police said. They quoted him as saying that the car sped away after hitting his vehicle.

"We have increased the security for Ms. Jolie to see that incidents like this do not happen again," R.S. Khaire, a police officer in Pune, said. "We are not taking this incident lightly."

Another police officer said a case had been registered against the driver of the car, and added that more police would now accompany Jolie on location.

Arti Surendranath of Kailash Picture Company, which is managing the film's shooting schedule in India, said Jolie was not in the car involved in the accident.

"It's a small incident which has been blown out of proportion," she said.

A Mighty Heart is based on the life of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped in the Pakistani port city of Karachi and killed in 2002 while researching a report in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Oscar-winning Jolie who is playing the role of Pearl's wife, Mariane, arrived in India last week with partner Pitt who is producing the film.

The movie is being shot in Pune because of security concerns in Pakistan.

The quiet city has been in a frenzy since the arrival of the celebrity couple. Hundreds of people are thronging the hotel where they are staying as well as the heavily guarded shooting location.

- REUTERS