Crushed biker was going to collect bride's dress

MUMBAI: Biker Harish Pillai (31), who was crushed to death when a speeding double-decker BEST bus tipped over on Friday evening, was on his way to collect his fiancée's wedding wear. He was engaged to former colleague Sowmya Shetty and was to tie the knot on May 3.
Sowmya's mother was distributing wedding cards at the time fire brigade officials were trying to pull up the 7,600-kg bus and take out Harish's body.It was only on Saturday that the family was told about the accident in Bandra's Kalanagar.
Sowmya, who has been inconsolable since she heard the news, had called up Harish's friend Ashraf Khan to confirm if the dead biker was indeed her fiancé . Sowmya's father Ramanna said the news has shattered her. "We were all very happy about the wedding and have been busy with the preparations. She was supposed to go on leave from May 1 and look how her life has changed now," said the father. Khan said Sowmya was trying to reach Harish's phone all night and called him when he could not get through.
The Saphalaya Cooperative Society in Gorai, where Harish lived with his brother and parents, wore a sombre look as his family and relatives returned from the crematorium after performing the last rites. His younger brother Santosh said BEST officials had met the family and offered condolences at Bhabha Hospital , where Harish was brought dead.