The Kerala High Court on Thursday allowed the investigation by the State police’s Crime Branch to continue into the gruesome tragedy that occurred during a fireworks display at Puttingal Devi Temple at Paravur in Kollam district on April 10 which claimed 114 lives but stated that the probe would be held under its direct monitoring.
While hearing arguments in the matter on the basis of a letter written to the court by one of its own judges seeking a ban or strict controls over fireworks shows in the wake of the Kollam tragedy, a division bench said that the Crime Branch’s preliminary probe report should be submitted to it before May 18.
The Court which had suo moto considered the judge’s letter as a PIl, had on Tuesday banned fireworks shows that produced high-decibel sound between sunset and sunrise. The division bench comprising Justices Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Anu Sivaraman had also banned such shows using crackers that produced sound levels beyond 140 decibel during daytime.
In an affidavit submitted to the division bench, the State Government responded rather negatively to the court’s Tuesday suggestion that it would be better if the CBI probed the fireworks tragedy in Kollam. It said that a CBI probe was unwarranted at this juncture as an investigation by the Crime Branch was continuing effectively and sincerely.
The affidavit claimed that the Crime Branch probe was being carried out by efficient officials and reports on it could be produced before the court regularly. The court could consider the option of handing over the investigation to the CBI if flaws were found in the current probe at a later stage, it added. The court, however, did not air any dissatisfaction over the current probe
When the matter of fireworks display was taken up late Thursday afternoon – though it was a holiday – the court explained that there was nothing extraordinary in the interim order it had issued on Tuesday. It reiterated that the ban on fireworks displays during night time should continue on the basis of an order passed by the Supreme Court in 2005.
However, the same division bench gave permission for fireworks display during night time in the famous Pooram festival of Thrissur, known as the grandest temple festival in Kerala, under conditions which included ensuring low-decibel sound-level, avoidance of high-intensity explosive materials, etc. The Thrissur Pooram festival falls on April 17 this year.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, after chairing an all-party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on the issue of fireworks displays, told newsmen that the Government was not in favour of imposing a blanket ban on fireworks shows but supported putting practical controls on them.
Stating that the general opinion that came up in the all-party meet was that fireworks shows could not be totally banned, Chandy said, “We should ensure that all safety measures and controls are in place when such displays take place. Chemicals used in fireworks should be checked and hazardous materials should not be allowed,” said Chandy.
As per the decisions taken by the all-party meet, a special fund would be constituted for the rehabilitation of those injured in the Kollam tragedy. Over 300 injured persons are still undergoing treatment at various hospitals and the condition of five of them is said to be critical. The meet also decided to request the Centre to declare the Kollam accident as a national disaster.
Meanwhile, sharp differences have come up among various Government departments on fixing the responsibility for the Kollam tragedy. The Home Secretary has reportedly recommended action against three top police officials of Kollam who had neglected Intelligence reports that the temple was going to hold a competitive fireworks show and not a simple ritual.
However, the Director General of Police opposed this saying that it was pointless to put the entire blame for the tragedy on the police and that there were failures on the part of the Kollam district administration as well. The police are accused of allowing the Puttingal temple fireworks show to take place despite denial of permission by the district administration.