Bridegroom among 8 dead as their car falls into river

Kota: Nine people, including the bridegroom, were killed after a car carrying a wedding party fell into the Chambal river here in the early hours of Sunday as the driver lost control of the vehicle due to drowsiness, police said. They were on their way to Madhya Pradesh for the wedding in a Maruti Ertiga, they said. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the dependents of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh for families that have lost two or more members in the accident.

The car fell into the river from a bridge early in the morning in Nayapura police station area after the driver lost control of the vehicle due to drowsiness, Superintendent of Police (city) Kesar Singh Shekhawat said. He said police received information about the accident around 7.50 am, following which a rescue operation was launched. Initially, seven bodies were pulled out from the car that had plunged seven-eight feet into the water.

Two more bodies were recovered later, Shekhawat said. The wedding party was going from Chauth Ka Barwara village in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, he said. The deceased have been identified as Avinash Valmiki (23), the bridegroom, his brother Keshav (30), car driver Islam Khan (35), Kushal (22), Shubham (23), Rohit Valmiki (22), Rahul (25), Vikas Valmiki (24) and Mukesh Gochar (35), the police said. The accident occurred around 5.30 am. The wedding party reportedly left along with a bus carrying other guests from Chauth Ka Barwara around 2.30 am, District Collector, Kota, Harimohan Meena told PTI.

The bodies have been sent to the respective native places of the deceased in government ambulances after a post-mortem examination at MBS Hospital, he said. Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident. In a tweet in Hindi, Gehlot said, "The death of nine 'baratis', including the bridegroom, after their car fell into the Chambal river is very sad and unfortunate. (I) spoke to the collector and took stock of the situation. My deep condolences are with the aggrieved families.

May God give them the strength to bear this loss and may the departed souls rest in peace." "PWD Minister Shri Bhajanlal Jatav has been asked to visit the spot.

Orders have been issued to provide a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to dependents of every person killed in the Kota accident and Rs 5 lakh to the families that have lost two or more of their members," he said in another tweet.