Thiruvananthapuram: The tug of war between the revenue department and the police continued over the Paravur fireworks tragedy with the police officials releasing the mobile phone locations of local tahsildar who allegedly returned home to Thiruvananthapram instead of staying back at Paravur and preventing the event.
As per protocol, it was up to Paravur circle inspector S. Chandrakumar and local tahsildar S.L. Saji Kumar to monitor the violation if any. The CI reported that the presence of tahsildar had caused confusion to the police. They believed the temple official’s statement that the firework show was being conducted with the oral permission from the district administration.
The tahsildar claimed that he had protested against the violation of the collector’s order and had on multiple occasions asked the policemen to do something to stop the firework show. As per a news report leaked to local television channels by the police on Saturday, the tahsildar left for Thiruvananthapuram at 12.30 a.m. and returned to Paravur at 6.30 a.m. after the disaster than trying to stay back to prevent it. He knew about the tragedy only when he was intimated by the village officers.
This alleged revelation by the policemen comes soon after the district administration putting Kollam police commissioner Prakash on a tight spot by releasing a recommendation by him to allow the fireworks. A report by the state police chief has passed the buck to the collector for failing to ban the famous event well in advance. The ban order came only on April 8 and preventing such an event could have caused public resistance and further law and order issues, it says.
Temple officials handed over to CB
The Paravur Magistrate Court on Saturday, while ordering the police custody of over a dozen Puttingal temple office bearers, expressed surprise about why none of them were injured during the Puttingal Firework tragedy. All the 13 accused who were arrested were handed over to Crime Branch HHW1 until Wednesday. The police had sought the custody of the temple officials for collection of evidence.
Through the bail plea filed by the 12th accused, the temple office bearers argued that they had abandoned the fireworks competition following a ban issued by the district collector on April 8, two days before the tragedy. However they said that the contractors might have engaged in the competitive fireworks. The court which did not buy the argument, rejected the bail plea.
The office bearers who pleaded innocence had put both contractors and officials in a tight spot for the tragedy by blaming them for failing to stop the fireworks.
While some of the temple committee officials were earlier arrested by police around five of them had surrendered before the Crime Branch which took over the inquiry later. They have been booked under Section 307 for attempt to murder. The fireworks show that went wrong on April 10 has claimed 113 lives until now.
