Batri, a locality in Ward No. 31 of Ballari City Corporation, woke up to shocking news on Tuesday morning. Six persons from the locality, all devotees of Swamy Ayyappa, were killed and four suffered injuries in an accident that occurred between Molkalmuru and Hangal in Chitradurga district.
They were all returning to Ballari from a pilgrimage to Sabarimala when a lorry collided with their van.
The injured have been admitted to VIMS hospital in the city.
The names of the dead were given as Honnurswamy (30), Lanki Reddy (35), Satish (18), Ramu (25), Murali (25) and Tirumal (23). The injured are Keshav (14), Vijay (15) Kumaraswamy (30) and Veeresh (25).
“Lanki Reddy, one of the deceased, called his wife at around 4 a.m. to tell her that he and the others were near Molkalmuru and would be reaching Ballari by 6 a.m. But by 6 a.m. only the news of his death came,” a grief-stricken relative told The Hindu .
One of the residents of the locality said all the six dead were breadwinners of their families.
They were returning home to Ballari when a lorry collided with their van
