Ernakulam: A day after the massive explosion that killed two people in Tripunithura, the state government has ordered a magisterial probe into the mishap. Ernakulam district sub-collector K Meera will probe into the accident, confirmed official sources.
The sub-collector will visit the accident spot on Tuesday itself. According to reports, matters including permission for fireworks display at Puthiyakavu Devi temple will be investigated.
On Monday, police registered a case against five people including temple committee members and the contractor who took firecrackers to Tripunithura. Sajeesh Kumar, Rajesh and Sathyan, who are the president, secretary and treasurer of the temple, respectively, and Adarsh, the firecracker contractor, were named as accused in the case.
According to reports, four people have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Multiple sections of the IPC including 307 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) were slapped against the accused, a senior police officer told PTI.
An officer of Hill Palace police station said that an investigation into the incident has revealed the involvement of several other officials of the temple and therefore, more arrests are expected soon. While one person succumbed to burn injuries soon after the tragedy, the other man was declared dead at a government medical college later in the day. The mishap happened when crackers were brought to be stored in a vacant house in the residential area for an ongoing festival at a local temple.
As per the police, the firecrackers and the gunpowder were illegally stored in a shed by the contractor as per the instruction of the temple officials. Police haven't yet given any exact reason for the sudden explosion. The explosion from the crackers and gunpowder initially killed one person, critically injured at least 16 others and damaged several houses in the vicinity.
(With PTI inputs)
