Two men were killed when they came under the wheels of a ‘ratha’ (car) at Virabhadreshwara car festival at Ron in Gadag district on Saturday.
The car festival was organised on a grand scale and thousands of devotees had come to witness it. The tragedy occurred when the car was being pulled by devotees and there was jostling among them to collect the fallen dates thrown on it [’ratha’]. The two men reportedly lost control and came under the wheels of the car, eyewitnesses said.
While one of the deceased was identified as Mallanagouda Linganagoudar, a resident of Ron, the identity of the other person is yet to be ascertained.
The police had a difficult time dispersing the crowd after the accident.
