Hassan: The horrific road accident at Mosalehosahalli in Hassan district on Friday night has left nine people dead, including three engineering students from different districts. Among the deceased were Praveen Kumar from Ballari, Mithun from Chitradurga, and Suresh from Chikkamagaluru. Their bodies were brought back to their native villages on Saturday, where grief-stricken families and residents broke down in tears.

Of the nine victims, eight were under 25 years of age, with the ninth being a 55-year-old man from Hassan. The untimely deaths of these youngsters have devastated their families and friends, leaving behind a trail of inconsolable sorrow.

Praveen Kumar, a final-year engineering student originally from Nagalakere in Ballari, was the only son of his widowed mother, Sushilamma. Despite grinding poverty, she worked as a cook in a private hospital to support her son’s education. Having lost her husband when Praveen was just two years old, she raised him with dreams that one day he would secure a good job and lift the family out of hardship. Those dreams were shattered when his lifeless body returned home in an ambulance on Saturday morning. Villagers wept alongside the grieving mother, whose cries pierced the air.

His aunt, sobbing uncontrollably, said: “My sister worked day and night in the hospital to educate her son. Last night we got a call saying he was hurt in the leg. We prayed for his safe return, but today he came back as a body. He was like a son to all of us.”

Hundreds of Praveen’s friends gathered at his home, shedding tears and promising to stand by the family in this dark time. In Chitradurga, Mithun, a final-year student at the Government Engineering College in Hosadurga, also met a tragic end. What made his death even more heart-wrenching was that it came just hours after he had celebrated his birthday on Friday. His friends recalled cutting a cake and wishing him, unaware that it would be his last celebration.

In Chikkamagaluru’s Manenahalli, the body of student Suresh was brought to his village for the final rites. His brother Raju lit the funeral pyre as the entire village mourned in silence. Former minister and MLC C.T. Ravi visited the grieving family and offered condolences.

Former minister B. Sriramulu also visited Praveen Kumar’s home in Ballari, where he demanded that the government enhance compensation for the poor family. “The government must provide at least Rs 10 lakh to Praveen’s family. No amount can bring him back, but greater support can help his mother survive this unbearable loss,” Sriramulu said.

The tragedy has left not just families, but entire communities in Ballari, Chitradurga, and Chikkamagaluru in deep mourning, as the young victims were seen as the future of their households.