Two Ayyappa devotees from Tirutani were killed in a road accident at Chengilikuppam village near Ambur town in Tirupattur on Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH-48) in the early hours of Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Two Ayyappa devotees from Tiruttani were killed in a road accident at Chengilikuppam village near Ambur town in Tirupattur on Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH-48) in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police said the deceased were identified as P. Gangadaran, 38, and M. Suriya, 22. An initial inquiry revealed that a group of 36 Ayyappa devotees, including ten boys near Tiruttani town in Tiruvallur district, were returning home in an omni-bus after completing their Sabarimala pilgrimage.
Police said the bus halted on the stretch for a tea break. Along with two other devotees E. Narasimhan, 39, and S. Hari, 19, the duo was walking on the stretch to have tea when the driver of a mini-truck, S. Gowrisan, 35, a native of Natrampalli town in Tirupattur district, lost control of the vehicle and hit them. The mini truck was coming from Coimbatore to Chennai when the incident happened around 5.30 a.m.
In the impact, all four devotees were badly injured. Immediately, other devotees and passersby alerted Ambur Taluk police, who shifted injured persons to Government Taluk Hospital in Ambur. Doctors declared that Gangadaran and Suriya were brought dead. Police arrested Gowrisan, and the other two devotees were referred to Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore for advanced treatment. A case was registered and further probe is under way.
Published – November 20, 2025 12:56 am IST
