Kerala: Railway Protection Force to end probe on suicide attempt

ALAPPUZHA: The death of the youth who tried to end life by setting himself ablaze in the toilet of Netravathi Express has brought the RPF probe into the incident to a standstill. With Niwas, 25, from Rajaganapathi Nagar, opposite New Bus Stand,  Vellore,  Tamil Nadu, breathing his last at a private hospital in Kochi on Monday, the RPF on Tuesday hinted that  the investigation would be called off after conducting immediate departmental proceedings.

Bency Joseph, RPF Sub Inspector, said that the accused wasn't interrogated though serious charges including attempt to derail train were slapped against him. “As accused is now dead, we have nothing more to do”, he said. When asked if security lapse of RPF would be probed, the inspector said that there was no serious security lapse in the case. “In a place like Kerala, fool-proof checking of individuals is still a dream. So, RPF alone can't ensure if the passengers are getting into the train with inflammable substances,” the inspector said.

Meanwhile, Sabeena Nath, Judge, Judicial First class Magistrate Count, had recorded statement of the youth from Medical College Hospital (MCH) here prior to him being shifted to Eranakulam. Earlier, police had found that the man had got into the train from Thiruvananthapuram railway station.  But the questions on where he bought petrol from and how he entered train with the inflammable substance remain unanswered.   Sreenivasan, his father and retired public servant in Tamil Nadu had said his son was mentally down for quite some time since his electric shop in Vellore was running on heavy loss, but Nawas never had showed any serious sign of depression in the past.