Vellore, July 30, 2013: Four devotees who were on ‘padayatra’ (pilgrimage by foot) carrying ‘kavadi’ on their shoulders to the Subramaniaswamy Temple in Tiruttani for the Adi Krithigai festival on Wednesday were crushed to death by the Alappuzha-Chennai Express while they were crossing the railway track at Walaja Road Station on Monday morning.

According to Ravi, Inspector of Police, Katpadi Railway Police, Anandan (47), s/o Munusamy, a labourer of Nadu Street, Lakshmiammalpuram in Melpatti in Gudiyatham taluk; Jagadeesh (18), s/o Babu of Vinayakar Koil Street, Gudiyatham, studying in a polytechnic in Gudiyatham and Velu (20), s/o Vimala of Konrampatti in Dharmapuri district, studying in a polytechnic in Salem died on the spot, while Naveenkumar (22), s/o Ramachandran of Pazhaya Sanrorkuppam near Ambur who sustained serious injuries died at the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital, Adukkamparai.

Morning tea

The four devotees who rested overnight at Walajapet went to have tea in the morning and were killed while returning to their resting place.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 30, 2013.