Hyderabad: When Kalyani Kumar’s (39) car caught fire on Thursday afternoon, as a plus-sized woman, she was trapped in her seat belt. The car was completely burnt, and as her husband and two children watched in helpless horror, Kalyani lost her life.
The incident happened on NH 9 in Bidar’s Mannaekhelli, Humnabad taluka. Kalyani was travelling with husband Uday and their children. The family was returning from Maharashtra, where Kalyani had undergone Ayurvedic treatment for her back problem.
Uday was driving. He noticed smoke coming out of the bonnet and stopped. He got his two children out first. “My wife could not come out as the seat belt got stuck,” he said. “She was suffering from a severe back problem and was overweight. I could not help her as the car was engulfed in flames in a few minutes.”
Others on the highway stopped and called police and the fire brigade. But by the time they arrived, Kalyani was dead. “My children are seven and ten years old,” Uday said. “Other commuters were kind to take them aside. I could do nothing as my wife burnt to death.”
n Page 3: Police suspect overheating
