Mandya: Two persons including a newspaper distributor were killed while three others sustained serious injuries after the car in which they were travelling rammed into a truck from behind near Gejjalagere in Maddur taluk yesterday early morning.

While the deceased have been identified as newspaper distributor Saddam Shariff (23) and car driver Shakeeb (25), those injured are 24-year-old Naseera, 20-year-old Nikath and 36-year-old Jaheeb, residents of Guttalu Layout in Mandya.

Saddam Shariff and others, who had been to Bengaluru to attend a function, were returning to Mandya in their car and when the car was proceeding near Gejjalagere, the car driver lost control of the vehicle which rammed into a truck from behind resulting in Shakeeb and Saddam sustaining grievous injuries while others too sustained injuries.

While Shakeeb and Saddam breathed their last while being shifted to a hospital, others have been admitted to MIMS Hospital in Mandya.

A case has been registered at Maddur Traffic Police Station.

Deceased Saddam Shariff’s father Kaleem Shariff has been working as a newspaper distributor at Guttalu Layout since decades. Kaleem, who is distributing many newspapers including Mysuru Mithra, fell sick recently and Saddam had taken the responsibility of  the distribution.

As newspapers were to be distributed in the early morning, Saddam and others left Bengaluru in the midnight, but tragedy struck before they could reach their destination. Despite his son’s death, Kaleem distributed over 600 newspapers in the morning and then took care of his son’s last rites, thus fulfilling his profession’s responsibility.