In a heartbreaking farewell, four schoolgirls laid to rest side by side

Tragic accident claims lives of four girls in Karimba village, leading to a heart-wrenching funeral attended by many dignitaries.

Side by side, they rest in eternal peace six feet beneath the earth at Thuppanad Juma Masjid graveyard. Rida Fatima, Nida Fatima, Irfana Sherin and Aysha A.S., the four girls who were crushed under a cement-laden truck that flipped over them at Panayampadam near Kalladikode on the National Highway 966 on Thursday evening, were given a tearful goodbye by Karimba village on Friday.

The whole village was united in their sorrow and bereavement as the bodies of the four 13-year-old girls were brought to their houses within a 100 metre radius at Cherully, Karimba, after the postmortem at Palakkad District Hospital at 6 a.m. on Friday. Heartbreaking scenes unfolded at their homes.

Their tragic death left their friends and teachers of Government Higher Secondary School, Karimba, in a state of numbness and disbelief. Many were seen crying inconsolably. The four friends, who were classmates and neighbours, were walking home from school after attending their mid-term exams when the tragedy struck.

Their bodies were shifted to Karimpanakkal Hall by 8.15 a.m., where people from different walks of life paid them their last respects. A massive crowd had converged on the hall well before the children were brought there. The police had a tough time controlling the crowds that spilled on to the highway.

Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal, Kazi of dozens of mahals and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president, led a funeral prayer at the hall. Minister for Power K. Krishnankutty, Minister for Local Administration M.B. Rajesh, MLAs K. Santhakumari and P.P. Sumodh, IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, District Collector S. Chithra, CPI(M) district secretary E.N. Suresh Babu, CPI district secretary K.P. Suresh Raj, IUML district president Marakkar Marayamangalam, Congress leader T. Siddeeq were among those who paid their respects to the children.

They were then taken to Thuppanad Juma Masjid, where hundreds took part in a funeral prayer led by Syed P.K. Imbichikoya Thangal. One by one, they were then lowered into their respective graves prepared side by side in the cemetery. A devastating sorrow gripped the mourners as they scattered a handful sand over the graves, bidding a last farewell.

Meanwhile, police arrested Prajeesh, who had driven a lorry that hit the cement-laden lorry and caused it to lose control and flip over. The police slapped serious charges against him, who is reported to have admitted his carelessness in driving.