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Tripura rath yatra mishap: Former CM Manik Sarkar demands judicial probe
On Wednesday (June 28) seven people, including three women and two children, were electrocuted to death and another 16 were injured after the crest of a chariot came in contact with high-tension power transmission lines during the procession
Former Tripura chief minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) Politburo member Manik Sarkar on Saturday demanded that a judicial enquiry be done to unearth the reasons behind the electrocution of seven people during ‘Ulto Rath’ (return of Lord Jagannath’s chariot) at Kumarghat in Tripura’s Unakoti district.
On Wednesday (June 28) seven people, including three women and two children, were electrocuted to death and another 16 were injured after the crest of a chariot came in contact with high-tension power transmission lines during the procession.
Sarkar’s statement came 72 hours after chief minister Manik Shah ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident.
The chief minister, who met with the injured people in the hospital after the accident, ordered a magisterial enquiry and also announced compensation. Meanwhile, on Friday, a three-member team of CPM leaders headed by Sarkar visited Kumarghat and met family members of the deceased persons, and injured persons, admitted in the Kumarghat sub-divisional hospital.
The team also visited the incident spot and later met with police officials, power department officials, PWD officials, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple administration.
ISKCON has also started an internal probe to unearth the reasons leading to the mishap.
After leaving Kumarghat, the team met injured people who were referred to Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) hospital in Agartala.
“We know that the chief minister has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. But we feel that judicial enquiry is needed in this case. We also demand to identify those who were actually responsible for the incident and take legal action against them,” Sarkar told the reporters at CPM headquarters in Agartala.
He further demanded government jobs for each of the dead persons’ families along with taking responsibility for the education of the children who lost their parents in the mishap to higher secondary level, providing financial assistance to the families of the injured ones till they become fit enough to rejoin their work and others.
“We also feel that the state government should bring out any guideline regarding processions taken out during different festivals including rath yatra to avoid such incidents in future,” said Sarkar.
The state government, earlier, announced a compensation of Rs. 4 lakhs for all the deceased people’s families along with Rs.2.5 lakhs for those who got over 60% burn injuries and Rs. 75,000 to those who sustained 40-60% burn injuries in the incident.
In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs. 2 lakhs for each of the dead person’s family and Rs. 50,000 for the injured ones from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
