Her family was preparing for grand celebrations as she was set to tie the knot in April. Gold jewellery had been bought, a marriage hall booked, and everyone was looking forward to the occasion. But Christmas Day robbed them of it all, thanks to a deadly road crash in Chitradurga district of Karnataka, and one can now hear the silence of a graveyard in what was supposed to be a place of merrymaking.
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Navya Manjappanna, the family’s beloved daughter and a software engineer by profession, was among the five who were charred to death in the crash that took place near Hiriyur early on Thursday (December 25) after an out-of-control container lorry rammed a luxury sleeper-coach bus, which was heading to Gokarna from Bengaluru.
She was going to Gokarna for a holiday with two friends and was set to return on Sunday (December 28). Her family members now struggle to recognise her and are waiting for a DNA test report to arrive.
Manjappa, Navya’s father, is inconsolable. He is yet to come to terms with the fact that his daughter would never call him again. He and other members of the family rushed to Chitradurga District Hospital, where the bodies of the deceased were kept for identification.
Since some of the bodies, including that of Navya, were charred beyond recognition, and the families failed to recognise them, doctors resorted to DNA testing. Blood samples were collected from the family members.
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Manjappa’s grief, which left people around him at the hospital teary-eyed as well, told The Federal about all his efforts to make his daughter succeed in life and mentioned how the family was looking forward to her marriage.
“I worked very hard to educate my daughter. After completing her BE (Bachelor of Engineering), she was working at Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru. The wedding was scheduled for April. We had made all preparations. She said she was going to Gokarna with her friends on vacation. She said she would come back on Sunday, but now she will never come,” the man, who runs a small canteen in Channapatna, from where the family hails, said between sobs.
One of Navya’s friends, Manasa, was also among the dead. Of the five victims, three — Bindu, Greya and Rashmi Mahale — have been identified by their respective families. But as fate had it, Navya and Manasa could not be differentiated, such is the condition of their mortal remains.
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The parents of both friends were called to the hospital for the identification process. The police and medical experts collected bone samples from the remains of both Nayva and Manasa for DNA testing, along with their relatives’ blood samples. The identities of the two friends can be established officially only after the findings come. The third friend, Milana, escaped unhurt.
Navya, who had been living in Bengaluru with Manasa and Milana, spoke to her family on Wednesday evening before starting for her ill-fated trip.
As for her family, it’s a massive emptiness, and there is no hope that it will ever be filled again.
(This article was first published in The Federal Karnataka)
