Kasaragod: Nileshwar police on Tuesday registered the arrest of three accused in the case reated to the fire accident at Anjootambalam Veererkavu. The arrested persons are Rajesh P, Bharathan and Chandrashekharan.
According to police, Bharathan and Chandrashekharan are the secretary and president of the temple committee, while Rajesh set off firecrackers during the mishap. In addition to these three, police have booked AV Bhaskaran, Thamban, Chandran, Babu, and Sasi, all members of the temple committee. Police said that Rajesh was entrusted by the committee to purchase crackers and he was responsible for bursting crackers during the conduct of the festival.
The fire accident during a Theyyam performance at a temple near Neeleswaram late Monday night left 154 people injured, eight of them seriously, when firecrackers stored in the vicinity exploded.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve, who visited the accident site, said necessary action would be taken based on a report to be submitted by the district administration.
Earlier in the day, the district administration said that the ADM (Additional Divisional Magistrate) had been ordered to investigate the incident and submit a report. The minister said the probe would cover all aspects, including whether legal permission for the fireworks display was sought, where they stored firecrackers in previous years, why they shifted the cracker storage area this time, and so on. He also said that the government and the courts generally propose some common criteria to be followed in terms of fireworks displays, and they should be implemented without fail.
