Maha announces compensation for 5 Solapur youths killed in Tirupati

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced compensation for the next of kin of 5 youths from Solapur killed in an accident in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati, an official said on Thursday.

Condoling the deaths of the five youths, Shinde said Rs 5 lakh each will be given to their families and the state government will bear the full treatment costs of the other four injured.

The victims were devotees, who had gone for darshan at the famed Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh, when their vehicle met with a major accident. While five were killed instantly, the four others injured were initially rushed to a government hospital and then shifted to the Tirupati Devasthanam Hospital.

According to officials, the vehicle rammed into a culvert in Chandragiri Mandal near Tirupati on Wednesday afternoon, and was reduced to a heap of metal, the local police said.

They had completed their worship at the Tirumala temple and were heading towards the Kanipakam temple when their vehicle met with the accident on the Naidupet-Puthalapattu Highway near Kalroadpalli village.

The victims have been identified as Atharva Tembhurnikar, Mayur Mathpati, Rishikesh Jangam, Ajay Laatle (among the deceased) and the injured are Rohan Irani, Rahul Irani, Shree Nerlekar, and Ambadas Kumar, as the tragedy cast a pall of gloom in their home town.

After completing the autopsy and other formalities, the bodies of the deceased victims are being brought to Solapur for the final rites.