One person was killed and four others, including a newly married inter-religious couple, were injured when their car hit a roadside tree, after allegedly being chased by relatives of the bride, at Gopalapuram near here on Saturday.
The driver of the car that had on board the young couple, who had got married secretly at a temple near Mahabubabad on Friday evening, crashed the vehicle into a tree abutting the Khammam-Wyra main road, in a bid to escape the furious relatives of the bride during a chase, sources said.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after the newly-wed couple had reportedly sought police protection in Yellandu, fearing danger to their lives. A long chase that lasted a little over one hour covering more than 50 km from Yellandu to Khammam in true filmy style preceded the car crash, resulting in the death of its driver Raju, who hailed from the coal town.
While the newly-wed couple suffered multiple fractures, two other occupants of the car – Ravi and Tarun, friends of the groom, — sustained grievous injuries. “Our worst fears came true when we saw two cars chasing our vehicle right from Yellandu all along the main road,” said S. Suman, 21, a visibly shaken groom, while lying down on the bed at the district headquarters hospital here.
“We had tried to take alternative routes on our way to Hyderabad in a desperate bid to save our lives, but could not avoid the mishap,” he said. Based on a complaint filed by the bride, Khammam urban police registered a case.
