Six members of a family, including one-year-old girl, died on the spot while two others suffered grievous injuries, after their omni van rammed a stationed lorry from behind at Chinnagoundanur four road junction near Sankari on the Salem – Kochi National Highway in the early hours of Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
The victims were identified as P. Selvaraj, 48, of Periya Kuravampalayam in Gobichettipalayam taluk, R. Sanjana, 1, of Kondalampatti in Salem, and four others from Kuttapalayam Ingur in Perundurai, M. Arumugam, 49, S. Palanisamy, 50, P. Papathi, 47, and A. Manjula, 38. Two others R. Priya, 25, of Kondalampatti and A. Viki alias Vignesh, 35, suffered grievous injuries and were admitted to Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem. All the bodies were shifted to the Government Hospital (GH) at Sankari.
Police said Palanisamy’s daughter Priya was married to Rajadurai of Kondalampatti and had a child Sanjana. Since dispute prevailed between the couple, Priya’s parents, Palanisamy, Papathi, her uncle and aunt, Arumugam, Manjula, her relative Selvaraj and Arumugam’s son Vignesh, came to Kondalampatti in an omni van on Tuesday and held talks with Rajadurai’s family. While returning, family members also took Priya and Sanaja with them.
