Title - Tamil Nadu Express blaze: Software engineer from Hyderabad not as lucky as her friends

HYDERABAD: Among the victims of the Tamil Nadu Express mishap was a 23-year-old techie from the city, D Shalini.

Shalini, a resident of Srinivas Nagar Colony in Kapra, had been working as a software engineer with Accenture in Chennai for the past one-and-a-half years.

On Saturday, Shalini along with her friends Sindhu (of Warangal) and Prashanti (from SR Nagar) had travelled to Karimnagar to attend the engagement ceremony of their roommate, one Ravali. Having attended the engagement, the three friends booked a ticket to Chennai from Warangal on Tamil Nadu Express. Shalini, Prashanti and Sindhu boarded the train from Warangal on Sunday night. They were allocated berth Nos 2, 3, 4 in the ill-fated coach S11.

While Shalini took the lower berth, her friends occupied the upper berths. When the fire started spreading, both Sindhu and Prashanti managed to get out of the berths and run into the adjacent compartments but Shalini was not as lucky as she got caught up in the stampede that ensued.

Later, her friends recognised Shalini's charred body by the help of the jewellery she had been wearing. It is learnt from family members that after a post-mortem, the body would be shifted to the city.

Shalini is survived by her parents, Hanumantha Reddy and Shoha, and her sister Sravanti. Shalini's father is into real estate business and her sister is a software engineer in Pune.