A few weeks from now, M. Raju would have been a bridegroom, but for him destiny decided otherwise.
On Sunday, the 22-year-old was trampled to death at Nanakramguda during the audio release function of Junior NTR starrer ‘Baadshah’.
A casual labourer
Raju, who used work as a casual labourer, got engaged last month, and the families were busy finalising the wedding date.
“We planned to make it a memorable event. Unfortunately, he is no more with us,” Raju’s cousin P. Charan lamented.
Admiration
An ardent fan of Junior NTR, Raju, along with his friends and relatives, had come to Hyderabad from Warangal to attend the audio release function.
His friends recalled that they waited at the venue since afternoon, and once the gates were opened, the crowd surged ahead leading to a stampede.
Undue rush
“The bouncers and policemen added their bit by pushing the crowds,” Charan said. A native of Birankunta village in Warangal district, Raju was second youngest among the five siblings. On Sunday, he had asked his mother for Rs.10. “It was the last time I spoke to him. Later in the night I came to know about his death,” Raju’s mother Vishveramma said.
The family has been passing through hard times ever since the death of Raju’s father a year ago.
“Raju used to bring his earnings and give them to me,” his mother recalled, weeping inconsolably.
Financial assistance
The victim’s family members claimed that the producer of the film, Banda Suresh, had promised a financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh, and that Junior NTR had also promised to stand by them.
“Whatever it is, I will not get back my son,” said Raju’s mother.
