Do not ignore this alarm chain

A few rare accidents and attacks apart, trains offer rather a safe and smooth transport. However, the shocking incident on a speeding train in Kozhikode’s Elathur has become a blotch on the safety of train journeys. An assailant entered a train with petrol and poured it on the passengers, before setting them on fire. Lives of three innocent people, including a toddler, have been lost while trying to escape. Something that couldn't otherwise be imagined has happened in front of us. Beyond giving ourselves over to speculation and exaggeration, the assailant should be apprehended and his motive explained.

The last we heard is that the suspect has been caught, which the police, however, have denied. They say that the suspect is a native of Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The police statement is crying for clarity, while media is shoveling out anecdotes. The information gleaned from the IMEI code of the mobile phone found at the crime scene reportedly led to the accused. Some notes found at the scene are also helpful. There needs clarity on the circumstance that led the accused to commit the crime alongside proving whether there was any separatist outfit behind it, whether there was any attempt at subversion and whether the accused received any help. The state government has drawn up an 18-member team for the investigation. Sleuths have arrived in Uttar Pradesh to collect information about the accused. Despite having initially ruled out the involvement of terrorists and Maoists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe if there are any possibilities. Senior Railway officials have also started investigation. At the same time, it must be remembered that eyewitnesses making public their narration could lead to the destruction of evidence. The privacy and security of the individuals who were attacked must be taken into account. Speculations about the attack are pouring in as usual. The information leaked out by the high-ranking cops can only add to speculations. Left Front Convener E.P. Jayarajan dubbed the Elathur incident as a planned terrorist attack meant to disrupt peace in the state. It is not clear where he got the information that the state police or the NIA have not yet confirmed. Rather than proving through investigation, speculations of this kind could help fuel malicious accusation of some forces that Kerala is a hub of destructive forces.

The Elathur train fire once again reminds us that passengers’ safety is still a mirage. After the tragic death of a young woman on the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train on February 1, 2011, authorities offered measures to ensure safety but to no avail. Had the police been present in the bogie or in the nearby bogies when the incident occurred, the accused could have been arrested, or at least the passengers could have been prevented from jumping out, averting deaths. Many passengers, especially women, have faced violence in trains before and after the Ernakulam-Shoranur incident. None of them gained much attention as there was no death. Railways are not yet ready to install CCTV system in the bogies. Despite making crores in profit through ticket price hike, tatkal tickets, flexi tickets, the railways are least interested in the safety of passengers. One can only hope that the new incident will open the eyes of the authorities.