Police and rescuers near mangled remains of vehicles after a bus carrying devotees collided with a truck near Sihora, Jabalpur, Tuesday (February 11, 2025)
| Photo Credit: PTI
In the quiet, winding bylanes of Hyderabad’s Nacharam, grief sat heavy in the air on Tuesday (February 11, 2025) night with only muffled sobs and deep sighs breaking the silence. The dimly lit parking lot of an apartment building in Karthikeya Nagar turned into a quiet space for mourning where B. Suman Kumar sat motionless, his head buried in his hands, unable to process the weight of what had just happened. His brother, 47-year-old B. Santosh Kumar, was dead — one of the seven persons killed in the Jabalpur accident. His cousins, Anand Kumar and S. Shashikant, had also perished, while his brother-in-law, S. Naveenacharya, lay injured.
Around him, family members and neighbours gathered, some coordinating travel to bring the bodies home, others making arrangements for the final rites, and a few trying to comfort him. The news came to the family at the time when they were preparing for another moment of remembrance—Santosh’s wife’s first death anniversary, coming up on March 6. Now, instead of preparing for a memorial, they were facing yet another funeral.
But of all the burdens pressing down on Suman, one loomed heavier than the rest. How was he supposed to break the news to Santosh’s two boys—B. Varun and B. Praneet, just 13 and 10 years old. The brothers, studying in class 8 and 5 at Shantiniketan Vidyalaya in Shameerpet, had no idea their world had just changed forever.
“I dropped them off at their hostel on Monday morning,” Suman said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Since we got the news, we just… we couldn’t tell them. I don’t know how I will. I have to pick them up tomorrow. I will watch their faces light up when they see me and in a single moment, I will have to take away the life they knew.” His words trailed off, the reality of what lay ahead.
For Suman, the memory of his last conversation with his brother is now frozen in time, a moment he keeps replaying in his mind. It was around 9:30 p.m. on Monday when he last spoke to Santosh. The group had just finished their pilgrimage and was preparing to begin their long journey back to Hyderabad. “I wanted to check on him, so I called up. He told me they had taken the holy dip, that everything was going great. He sounded happy… at peace,” he said.
The family had been expecting the group to return home by Wednesday morning. Instead, what arrived was the unthinkable—the news of their deaths. Relatives and friends were seen moving between the homes of other deceased, which are just a few meters apart.
The last ride
On Saturday (January 8), nine men set out on a journey they had dreamed of for years. Santosh, his brothers, his brother-in-law, and a few close friends from their community — including Mallareddy, Ravi Kumar and T.V. Prasad — had planned this trip. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have a dip in the sacred Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, an event that drew millions seeking spiritual renewal.
They boarded the mini bus, owned and driven by Raju Errakunta. Their families, though a little anxious about the long road ahead, were happy for them — knowing how much this trip meant.
By Monday morning they reported news about the holy dip and darshan at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. As night fell, they prepared to head back home. The return journey began late Monday night
But as dawn broke on Tuesday morning, fate had other plans. At around 8 a.m., near Sihora—800 kilometres away from their hometown— a truck, barreling down the wrong side of the road crashed into their vehicle. The crash was sudden, violent. “I spoke to our brother-in-law Naveen,” Suman recalled. “He said he was jolted awake by the sheer force of the impact.” Naveen has sustained fractures in his legs and is currently undergoing treatment in the Government Medical College in Jabalpur along with Balakrishna Shriram.
In an instant, their pilgrimage was brought to an unforeseen and tragic end. The bodies of the victims are likely to be brought by road to Hyderabad by Wednesday evening.
Published – February 12, 2025 11:51 am IST
