Five of six dead in Theni mishap cremated

KOTTAYAM: The bodies of the six persons who died in a road  accident at Parasuramapuram near Theni in Tamil Nadu on Monday evening were brought  to their homes at   Thankamany in Idukki district early on Tuesday. The deceased are  Ajish Vettukattil, Monsy Padalamkunnel, Ottalnakal Shine, Binu Kariparampil,  Justin and the owner and driver of the ill-fated Tempo Traveller, Mullanikkal Baby.

Five of them were tile workers and they had hired Baby’s vehicle to go to Velankanny. The accident occurred while they were returning from Velankanny. The funeral of five of the victims was conducted on Tuesday evening.  Baby’s funeral will be held on Wednesday morning, as his daughter, a nurse in Australia, was expected to  come home on Tuesday night.  

The bodies were brought  home by  3 a.m. after getting  the special order of  Theni district collector  Venkitachalam. The post-mortem was held  in the evening itself.  The bodies  were  kept at the cooperative hospital, Thanka-many, for the public to pay their last respects and then taken to their houses.

Shine of Vazhayil house, Thankamany, who was  injured in the accident, was brought to Idukki and admitted to  St John’s Hospital, Kattapana.   It is said that the Tempo Traveller  collided with a Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation bus while Baby, who was driving the van,  tried to overtake another vehicle.  According to the sources,  there was slight drizzle  when the accident happened.

Baby began career at age of 18

Mullanikkal Baby, 60, who began driving at the tender age of 18, was considered as an expert driver and had been  driving vehicles, including rickshaws and buses,  for a long time.   “He was never involved even in a minor accident before this”, said Biju Joseph, a friend of Baby. Baby,  who was in Saudi for 18 years, had bought the Tempo Traveller couple of years ago by availing a loan.