MADURAI
Two Jain nuns, identified as Priyadarishi, 52, and Sudharishi, 45, were killed in a road accident when they were on a padayatra on Dindigul-Madurai highway near Nagari in the early hours of Thursday.
Police said that a group of five nuns were on padayatra from Kodaikanal to Kanniyakumari. After the night halt at Ayyankottai on Dindigul highway, they resumed their journey around 3 a.m.
The nuns were walking in the front, and a pick-up van, carrying their luggage, was following them. The police said when the group was crossing Nagari junction at 3.15 a.m., a tourist bus, proceeding to Kanniyakumari from Sathyamangalam, hit their van from behind.
In the impact, the van crushed the two nuns, who were walking a little ahead, killing them on the spot. The van also hit the other three nuns, inflicting grievous injuries on them.
While the van turned to its left and fell into a roadside gorge, the bus hit the road median. The bodies of the two nuns were taken to Government Rajaji Hospital here, and handed over to the community people after post mortem. The injured are being treated at a private hospital.
Sholavandan police are investigating.