PARVATHIPURAM (VIZIANAGARAM DIST): Tejaswini Pandit was very happy when she boarded the Hirakhand Express at Rayagada on Saturday night. Her marriage was fixed recently. As per tradition, the 24-year-old, with her parents, Ram Prasad Pandit and Jashoda Pandit, was going to Puri to offer her marriage invitation card to Lord Jagannath. But within an hour, her world turned upside down.
There was a big thud and the S9 bogie in which the trio was travelling was tossed into the air. Tejaswini survived, but her parents did not. Having received serious injuries on her legs, she was shifted to the Parvathipuram hospital in an unconscious state.
“Tejaswini was on the upper berth. Her parents’ bodies are beyond recognition. They were very happy as her marriage was in March. She remained unconscious throughout the day. How will I tell her that her parents are no more?” wondered Bhushan Pandit, uncle of Tejaswini, breaking into tears.