Death stalks Penugonda again: Bangalore-Nanded Express rammed by truck loaded with granite boulders

Ballari: Veteran Congress leader and ruling Congress party MLA of Devadurga constituency (ST) in Raichur district, Mr A Venkatesh Naik (79) was one of five people who died in a rail accident near Penugonda in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, at about 2.30 am on Monday.

The accident - the third in as many years near Penugonda - occurred when Bangalore-Nanded Express in which Mr. Naik was travelling was rammed by a truck loaded with granite boulders at a manned, closed level crossing near Madakashira village between Rangepalli and Penugonda Stations in Anantapur district, in Dharmavaram Section of Bengaluru division of South Western Railway (SWR).

The collision led to the derailment of four coaches and killed five people, including Mr. Naik and the driver of the truck, who lost control of the vehicle. There is some speculation he was inebriated. A post-mortem will confirm or deny whether the driver was indeed drunk. The others who died included two railway employees.

Among the deceased TSD Raju (53) was a resident of Bengaluru for the last few years. “He is a resident of Hebbal. But his family is from Raichur,” said sources in SWR.