ALAPPUZHA: The passengers of a compartment of the Trivandrum-Lokmanya Thilak Netravathi Express had a narrow escape when it caught fire after a man tried to immolate himself in the toilet at Kayam-kulam station on Tuesday. The accused, Nivas, 25, son of Srinivasan of Raja Ganapatinagar, of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, carried petrol and diesel in his hands, locked the toilet door of the general compartment in the front from inside and set himself on fire after pouring petrol.
According to Kayamkulam police, the incident happened just before the train was about to halt at the railway station at 11.45 am. The passengers found thick fumes coming out of the toilet area and there were flames while the train reached the station. The railway officials at the station swung into action and disconnected the coach. The panicky passengers were safely evacuated and none was hurt. The Fire and Rescue Service personnel from Kayamkulam rushed to the station and doused the fire. The toilet portion was partially gutted.
The train resumed its journey by 2 pm after the damaged bogie was detached at the station. Nivas was reportedly suffering from mental depression and he has been admitted to Medical College Hospital, Vandanam here, with 40 per cent burns. His condition is out of danger. Mr N. Rajesh, DySP, Kayamkulam, said that Nivas had been missing from Vellore for the last four days and that the Vellore police had registered a man-missing case. According to his relatives, he was a computer engineer and was running a laptop repair centre there.
It was not known from where he had got into the train with inflammable substance. The local police said that it was a serious security laps by the Railway Protection Force. Mr N. Viswanathan, an eyewitness, said that the police had seized one litre diesel and 250 ml petrol in two bottles from the man’s possession. The evacuation was made possible by the timely intervention of the officials, he said. The police added that the compartment was kept at the 6th track for forensic examination. The relatives of Nivas have left Vellore for Kayamkulam, the police said.
