Bodies of MLA’s kin brought from US

Vijayawada: The bodies of five persons who died in a car accident recently in the US, relatives of Mummidivaram MLA P Venkata Satish Kumar, were repatriated to their hometown Amalapuram in Konaseema district on Tuesday.

The bodies reached Amalapuram by 11 am on Tuesday from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and were kept at home for about three hours for people to pay respects, according to officials.

P Nageshwar Rao, Seetha Mahalakshmi, Naveena, Kruthik and Nishitha were among the six dead when their car collided head-on with a truck in Texas on December 26, 2023. The group had gone to their relative Vishal’s house in Texas for Christmas holidays, travelling from Atlanta in Georgia state. They visited a zoo park and were returning when the tragedy struck. Nageshwar Rao was the younger brother of Mummidivaram MLA’s father P Satya Rao. He was engaged in the timber business. His daughter Naveena’s family lived in Atlanta.

“After keeping the bodies for three hours at their home for people to pay respects, the mortal remains were taken to Kotilingalana Ghat in Rajamahendravaram for funeral rites,” Amalapuram sub-divisional police officer Ambika Prasad said. Information and public relations minister Ch Venugopala Krishna and roads and buildings minister P Vishwaroop also visited the bereaved family members to pay their respects, he said. According to Prasad, heartrending scenes unfolded at Nageshwar Rao’s home and several people from the town paid respects and mourned their loss.