4 of family from Theni among six killed in two accidents

In the first accident, four members of a same family were killed and one person was injured when the auto rickshaw in which they were travelling collided with a TNSTC bus at Kondamanayakkanpatti village near Andipatti in Theni district on Monday morning.

Four members of a family hailing from Allinagaram in Theni district and were going in an auto to their ancestral temple at Poosalapuram village to offer prayers on the occasion of Mahasivaratri.

When the auto neared Kondamanayakkanpatti village, a TNSTC bus collided with the auto and ran over the passengers.

Of the five passengers, four succumbed to injuries on the spot, while a woman, sustained injuries and was rushed to Government Medical College Hospital at Kanavilakku. The driver of the auto escaped unhurt, sources said.

The deceased were identified as K Senrayan (42), his wife Sudhalakshmi (35), their son Mani alias Manisamy (11) and daughter Abhinaya (7). The injured woman was identified as Ponnuthai (58), wife of Murugan.

Theni Superintendent of Police V Baskaran, after inspecting the accident spot, said that they suspect the accident to be a case of drunk and drive as preliminary inquiries has revealed that the auto driver was a habitual drunkard. The possibility of rash driving by the government bus driver also could not be ruled out, he added.

However, blood sample of the auto driver has been collected and sent for test to find if the driver was in an inebriated state.

In another mishap, two persons were killed when the two-wheeler they were riding was knocked down by a van near Nilakottai in Dindugul district. Both of them died on the spot.