Hyderabad: Four persons returning home after dropping a friend at the Shamsbahad airport were burnt to death when their car rammed into the parapet of an underpass on the Outer Ring Road early on Monday morning. While passing through the ORR, the driver — it has not yet been established who was at the wheel — lost control of the car which hit and climbed a divider, veered back on the road and hit the parapet wall.

The car (TS 03 EL 6551) caught fire and the four occupants were burnt to death. The staff at the toll plaza and boys who were selling eatables saw the fire, rushed to the spot and tried to rescue the occupants in vain. A fire tender from Ibrahimpatnam rushed to the spot and doused the fire. Police suspects that the car was travelling at around 120 kmph when the shocking accident occurred.

Sources close to Bhaskar said that while starting for Hyderabad, the group had got drunk. About two hours after they started from the airport, Bhaskar tried calling them to tell them to drive safely but could not reach them as they were out of range. “It could be due to the high speed of the vehicle or the driver may have felt drowsy and lost control of the car. We are verifying other angles also. We assume that Shiva was driving the car, as the car is registered in his mother Rameshwari’s name.” Hayathnagar police inspector J. Narender Goud said.

The bodies of the victims were charred beyond recognition. A team of doctors from Osmania General Hospital conducted autopsy at the spot and samples were sent to forensic laboratory for identifying the bodies. A case of accidental death under IPC Section 304A was registered after a complaint was filed by Shiva’s father Budha Shankaraiah.

Shiva Krishna’s family shattered:

Buddha Shiva Krishna’s wife Srilatha saw him last on Sunday night, when he left saying that he was going to drop his friend at the railway station. The family which was celebrating the birth of Shiva Krishna’s first child, is now shattered. Shashidhar left home two days ago to join coaching for the forest service exam. All the victims were classmates while doing engineering.

Buddha Shiva Krishna, the second son of his parents, was married to Srilatha one-and-a-half years ago. Three months ago, Srilatha gave birth to a premature baby. As the baby was critical she was put in ICU, and got discharged a week ago, relatives said. Though they had a self choice marriage and had troubles, the couple was happy. The baby’s recovery was a great relief to the family and they were planning the naming ceremony.

“His last words to his wife were that he would return soon after dropping his friend at the railway station. What can we say to his daughter when she grows up and asks for her dad?” Shiva’s father Shankaraiah said. Shiva Krishna was running a super speciality hospital in Hanamkonda. The car in which they were travelling was registered in Shiva’s mother Rajeshwari’s name. Though his friends knew driving, Shiva did not allow them to drive as none of them had experience on highways. His relatives think that he might have got tired leading to the accident.

Shashidhar, the younger son of his parents, belongs to Mancherial district and came to Hanamkonda two days ago to join coaching for the forest service entrance. “When he left he said that he will return with a job. He was confident of clearing the test but his dreams and that of our family is now shattered,” Shashidhar’s brother Sridhar said. Raju, who is an engineer, took up farming, while Srikanth was doing MTech. Three mobiles and part of a gold chain were recovered from the vehicle.