Hours before he was supposed to get married, a bridegroom and eight family members were killed when their vehicle fell into the Chambal river near Kota in Rajasthan on Sunday morning.
The incident took place around 5.30am under Nayapura police station area, said Keshar Singh Shekhawat, superintendent of police, Kota city. The driver of the Maritu Ertiga car lost control of the vehicle as he fell asleep on the wheel, police said.
All nine people in the vehicle, including the 23-year-old bridegroom, died on the spot, Shekhawat said.
The marriage party were on their way to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh from Chauth ka Barwara in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, Shekhawat said. The accident was reported by a passerby.
The wedding party reportedly left along with a bus carrying other guests around 2.30am, Kota district collector Harimohan Meena told PTI.
The deceased are between 22-35 years of age and have been identified as Avinash Valmiki, the bridegroom, his brother Keshav (30), car driver Islam Khan (35), Kushal (22), Shubham (23), Rohit Valmiki (22), Rahul (25), Vikas Valmiki (24) and Mukesh Gochar (35), Shekhawat said.
The post-mortem has been done and the bodies have been sent to their home town. A team from the municipal corporation recovered all the bodies.
“The death of nine people including the groom after the car of the wedding procession fell into the Chambal river is very sad and unfortunate,” Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted. “(I) spoke to the collector and took stock of the situation. My deepest sympathies are with the bereaved family, may god give them strength to bear this loss, may the soul of the departed rest in peace (sic).”
The state government will provide a compensation of ₹2 lakh to dependents of every person killed in the Kota accident and ₹5 lakh to the families that have lost two or more of their members, the chief minister said in another tweet.
President Ram Nath Kovind also condoled the loss of lives. “I am deeply saddened to hear about the death of many people in a road accident in Kota, Rajasthan. My condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this accident,” tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, who represents the Kota constituency in Parliament, and state urban development and housing minister Shanti Dhariwal also expressed their condolences.
With agency inputs
