Alappuzha-Kannur Express Fire Accident: On Thursday, police in Kannur confirmed the four fingerprints of a man, arrested from West Bengal.
He was arrested in connection with the fire on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train. He was taken into custody following the discovery.
The Kannur railway police collected 10 fingerprints from the coach of the train, and four of them matched with the man they had taken in custody. The man reportedly claimed to be a beggar.
The fire was noticed by station staff at around 1:30 am on Thursday and the Kannur Fire and Rescue Station sent four units to deal with the blaze. It was contained around 3:15 am. The train was stationary on track 20-30 meters from the platform and around 100 meters from a nearby Bharat Petroleum fuel depot. One of its coaches was engulfed in flames.
The incident occurred after all the passengers had deboarded and no one was injured, according to an officer of RPS Kannur.
Opposition Criticises Kerala Government
The incident prompted harsh criticism from the opposition Congress and BJP against the ruling Left government in the state. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan claimed the government and police weren’t dealing with such matters seriously. And demanded a proper probe into the reasons behind such incidents. He also blamed the police for its lack of seriousness in dealing with such cases. Saying it was apparent from how the Elathur train arson incident of April 2 was handled by the Kerala Police.
Alappuzha-Kannur Express Fire Accident: Chairman of Indian Railways’ Passenger Amenities Committee (PAC) PK Krishnadas said such incidents have created fear and anxiety among people traveling by train and questioned why it was happening “again and again” in Kerala. He claimed investigative agencies suspected the involvement of several people behind the latest incident.
Alappuzha-Kannur Express Fire Accident: BJP’s Kerala unit president K Surendran slammed the state government. And asserted that there was peace in the state due to efforts of the Centre and its agencies. As otherwise the state would have been burnt to ashes by extremist and terror groups”.
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The fire on the Alappuzha-Kannur Express train has yet again raised serious questions. Regarding the safety and security measures in place in Kerala. While the police have taken the accused into custody. The state government and its police force have come under criticism for their alleged lack of seriousness in dealing with such cases. The investigative agencies are now investigating the case to determine the cause and perpetrators behind the incident.