4 grandsons of former MLA die in accident:Funeral pyres burn together; were returning from birthday party when car rammed into truck

‘Don’t know what unfortunate moment came on Monday night. The only light of our family has gone out. Who will I live for now? He had left home saying he would return soon. If I had even the slightest idea, I would never have let him go.’ As soon as she says this, Mridul’s mother Mamta Patel’s eyes fill with tears. Women from the family standing nearby support her. After a brief pause, she says, “He had gone to celebrate his brother-in-law’s birthday. I had even asked him who was going with him. When he named his brothers, I was not worried. He drove so well that we never had any complaint about his driving.” Mridul was driving the XUV car that crashed into a moving truck on National Highway-30 near Rigrha village under Nadan police station on the night of July 6. The accident claimed the lives of five people — Ankur Patel (40), Mridul Patel (32), Vijay Patel (30), Harishankar Patel (25) and Sanjeev alias Shiva Patel (23). Ankur and Mridul were grandsons of former MLA Lalji Bhai Patel. Brothers Vijay and Harishankar were nephews of Lali Patel. Sandeep Patel was the grandson of the former MLA’s niece. According to duty doctor Gyanesh Gautam, all the youths suffered severe head injuries. A Dainik Bhaskar team reached Tanaja village, around 35 km from the Maihar district headquarters. Even three days after the accident, normal life has not returned to the village. Silence prevailed everywhere. The sound of women crying could be heard intermittently from the two-storey house of the former MLA. Satish said – I went in another car, that’s why I survived Outside the house, the team met Satish, cousin of the deceased brothers. Satish had gone to Amarpatan to attend the birthday celebration of his relative in another car. Satish said, “On Monday evening around 8 pm, we left Tanaja for the birthday celebration of Janpad Vice President Manoj Patel in Amarpatan. After the celebration, everyone had dinner. It was raining heavily. While returning, I asked Mridul, Ankur and Vijay to come along with us. Mridul said, ‘Brother, you go in your car, we will leave after some time.’ I never thought they would never return. Otherwise, I would have brought them along.” Satish said, “Our entire family has been shattered. Mridul, Vijay, Harishankar, Ankur and Sanjeev are gone. Sanjeev worked as an engineer in a private company in Maihar. His father had died long ago. He was the only support for his grandmother, mother and brother. Fortunately, God has given Om Patel a second life. He is pursuing an MBA from a college in Indore and is undergoing treatment in Jabalpur.” The accident took away two sons Satish introduced the team to Ganga Patel, who was sitting in the verandah of the house. Her two sons, Vijay and Harishankar, died in the accident. Vijay worked as a manager with Amazon in Jabalpur. He leaves behind a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. His younger brother Harishankar (Betu) worked from home at a company. Elderly mother’s eyes turned to stone Near Ganga Patel, an elderly woman around 70 years old was sitting on a chair. She was Kiran Patel, mother of Ankur Patel. Ankur’s father had passed away years ago. Ankur married Kiran eight years ago. The couple has an eight-year-old son. Kiran appeared unable to understand what had happened. Her eyes looked blank. She wanted to say a lot but struggled to speak. She slowly said, “I don’t know how they lost control while returning from the birthday celebration. What happened? Everything happened around 1:30 to 2 am. We came to know only at 5 am. I don’t know how all the children were lost together.” Saying this, she broke down in tears. Part-2
A crowd gathered in front of the mansion in no time On Tuesday morning, villagers were preparing to go to their fields when news arrived that four grandsons and one grandson of former MLA late Lalji Bhai Patel had died in a car accident. Within minutes, a crowd gathered outside the former MLA’s mansion. Villagers left their work and rushed there. Women’s cries echoed through the house. Elderly villagers sat outside the mansion holding their heads and said, “What tragedy has happened. The same courtyard where these children grew up playing will now witness their funeral processions.” Four funeral processions left, entire village wept When the bodies of the four victims reached the village, cries of grief filled the atmosphere. Women in the courtyard of the mansion were inconsolable. Daughters-in-law with their faces covered were seen crying against the walls. With great difficulty, the bodies were placed on funeral biers. As four funeral processions left one after another for the final rites, the entire village broke down. After the final procession, four funeral pyres were prepared at the cremation ground in the evening. Ankur was cremated by his younger brother Ankit, Mridul by his cousin Satish, Vijay by Shubham and Harishankar by Anish. The fifth victim, Sanjeev Patel, was cremated in his native area of Narora.