6 devotees on padayatra to Palani mowed down by bus

Six persons including three women, who were part of a larger group of pilgrims, were going on a ‘padayatra’ to Palani, when the incident happened around 5.30 am. 

“They began their pilgrimage in Tirupur. As they were walking along the road, a TNSTC bus heading to Madurai and coming in the opposite direction ran amok into the crowd of devotees near Dharapuram,” police said. 

Five pilgrims identified as Maheshwari, Vijaya, Nagaraj, Kalithmuthu and Rajamani succumbed to injuries on the spot, while one more person Shanthi died without responding to treatment at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospial (CMCH). 

On receiving information, the Dharapuram police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies of the deceased persons to Dharapuram GH for post-mortem. At this time of the year, a large group of devotees take a pilgrimage on foot from Tirupur to the Palani Hills. They walk for nearly 90 kilometres.

Soon after the mishap, bus driver Tamilarasan, 35, and conductor Muthu Venkatraman, 54, both hailing from Madurai ran away from the spot. However, police managed to nab driver Tamilarasan. 

Inquiries revealed that the driver had lost control of the bus as he had dozed off at the wheels leading to the mishap. Police from Dharapuram station have registered a case.