A damaged car after an accident near Vellakovil in Tiruppur district in the wee hours of Wednesday that claimed six lives.
A police constable, a truck driver and four passengers in a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) were killed on the spot in an accident at Kurukkathi near Vellakovil in Tiruppur district along the Tiruchi-Coimbatore National Highway early Wednesday morning.
According to the police, several constables from the Vellakovil station, including constable P. Ravichandran (36), were on duty at the Tiruppur district police checkpost at Kurukkathi near the Karur border on Tuesday evening.
A lorry loaded with casuarina stakes from Cuddalore district rammed into the checkpoint barricade around 3 am on Wednesday. Truck driver R. Senthil (48) of Panruti in Cuddalore district and constable Ravinchandran were on their way to rearrange the barricade when the MPV hit them from behind. It then crashed into the back of a stationary truck. The truck driver, a constable and four passengers in the MPV all died on the spot, police said.
The passengers of the MPV were identified as R. Ram (22), who was behind the wheel, Narasimhan (65) of Mayiladuthurai, his wife Shanthalakhsmi (60) and the couple’s son Balaji (29).
The bodies of the accident victims were taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Tiruppur for post-mortem. Senior police officials, including Deputy Inspector General of Police (Coimbatore Range) P. Saminathan, inspected the accident site and visited the hospital.
The Chief Minister condoles the death
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay said he was deeply saddened by the death of the police officer and five others. In a statement released by the Chief Minister’s office on X, Mr. Vijay said that Constable Ravichandran’s death was an irreparable loss to the Tamil Nadu Police and his family. The Chief Minister expressed his condolence and condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased. He announced a solatium of ₹ 30 crore for the policeman’s family from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and ₹ 3 crore for each of the five others.
Published – 13 May 2026 10:53 IST
