Death came calling for five people, including four women vegetable vendors from Chennareddyguda in Manchal mandal of Ranga Reddy district here on Monday.
Four women were killed on the spot when a speeding sedan car, allegedly driven by an inebriated person, collided head-on with the auto they were travelling in at Lingampallygate near Nomula village of the same mandal, nearly 40 km from here.
The driver of the auto rickshaw, identified as Vangala Srinivas (25), died while being rushed to a hospital.
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Eyewitnesses informed police that the car came at a high speed from the opposite direction in the wrong route and hit the auto. The impact of the accident was so heavy that the auto rickshaw turned into a mangled mass of metal.
The accident occurred around 6.15 a.m. when the women passengers were going to Ibrahimpatnam vegetable market to sell their harvest. The victims were identified as Chimala Mamata (35), Chimala Sujatha (36), Amboth Hasti (55) and A Maru (50), all vegetable vendors from the same village.
M R Gangaram, inspector, Manchal said that 11 people including the driver, Srinivas, were travelling in the vehicle and six survivors with injuries were rushed to nearby hospital for treatment.
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“Condition of another passenger is said to be serious, who is being treated at a private hospital in Hastinapuram near BN Reddy Nagar here,” he said.
He said that the driver of the car was identified as Praveen Reddy, a resident of Manchal, who is currently absconding. Police said that four more persons were occupied in the car along with Reddy, who were returning home after attending an over-night party in the nearby village.
As a couple of liquor bottles were found in the car, the Manchal police suspect that the accused, Reddy was driving the vehicle under the of alcohol.
Soon after learning about the news, the family members of the deceased and other villagers gathered at the accident spot and staged a protest on the road demanding stern action against the car driver and ex-gratia to the deceased families.
The agitating villagers did not allow the police to shift the dead bodies to hospital for autopsy and blocked the road.
Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy who visited the spot announced an ex-gratia of ₹ 3 lakh to the families of each deceased. He also promised to provide houses under Double Bedroom scheme, a villager said. However, they refused his offer and demanded ₹ 25 lakh for each family.
Tension escalated between the angry mob and the police, when they attacked Mr Reddy's convoy and allegedly pelted stones for not considering their demands. A few police officers suffered minor injuries while controlling the villagers.
EOM