Four Ayyappa devotees from Mahabubnagar district died on their return journey from Sabarimala, when the car they were travelling in rammed into the wall of a culvert at Pullareddipet near Duvvur post Thursday midnight. Three others also sustained severe injuries in the mishap.
Bala Narayana, Devaiah, Rajender Reddy and Srinivas, all residents of Ramnagar in Nagarkurnool in Mahabubnagar district, died on the spot, according to Duvvur sub-inspector Khaja Miya.
Three others in the car – Niranjan, Pandu and Bhagavanthudu – who sustained severe injuries were rushed to the government hospital at Proddatur. Of them, two persons were referred to Kurnool General Hospital.
The seven devotees on “deeksha” visited the Ayyappa Swamy temple at Sabarimala and subsequently had darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, the SI said. The mishap occurred at around 2 a.m. when they were returning to Nagarkurnool. Duvvur police registered a case.
