Crime Branch finds 59 guilty in Puttingal temple mishap

Thiruvananthapuram: The Crime Branch probe into the Puttingal firework tragedy has found about 59 persons guilty of criminal charges, while only departmental actions are likely to be recommended against the police and revenue officials.

It is learnt that the Crime Branch probe was almost over and the chargesheet is being vetted by higher-ups. The chargesheet is expected to be filed within a month.

According to sources, the probe has found criminal offences on the part of 59 persons, mainly the temple committee office-bearers, firework contractors and workers. Culpable homicide would be invoked against the key accused, apart from sections of the Explosives Acts and various other charges under IPC.

With regard to the police and revenue officials, the probe team was of the opinion that criminal liabilities could not be framed against them for the mishap, but could be only held liable for lapses in discharging official duties. It seems there were differences of opinion among the Crime Branch officials on the matter and hence a final decision on framing officials would be taken after detailed vetting by higher officials.

According to sources, the police and revenue officials had reportedly carried out inspection at the explosive warehouse (padakkappura) to check that explosives beyond the permitted quantities were not stored.

In the Crime Branch probe,  it was found that  the firework contractors had stored huge quantities of explosives on the premises of some nearby temples to evade the attention of police and revenue officials. From these, it could be inferred  that there were lapses on the part of officials in effectively enforcing the ban  on competitive fireworks. Hence the chance of invoking criminal charges against the officials was remote, said sources.

While permission was granted only for fireworks using 12 kilogram explosives, it was estimated that fireworks weighing nearly 3,000 kilogram were used at Puttingal.

A Crime Branch team led by SP D. Sreedharan was probing into the Puttingal tragedy that occurred on April 10  claiming 111 lives.