Tripura govt orders magisterial inquiry in chariot tragedy

Tripura government has ordered a magisterial probe into the June 28 chariot tragedy in which eight people, including three children, were charred to death and 32 injured, state's parliamentary affairs and power minister Ratan Lal Nath said on Monday.

The Minister while participating in a discussion in the Assembly on the chariot disaster issue said that the state government has ordered the magisterial probe to identify the loopholes and negligence on the part of both the administrations and the organisers.

Moving an adjournment motion, the issue was raised in the house by CPI(M) MLA Dipankar Sen and requested Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen to discuss the important matter suspending the other business of the house.

When the Speaker disallowed the adjournment motion of Sen, the opposition legislators led by opposition leader Animesh Debbarma and CPI(M) legislature party leader Jitendra Choudhury, Congress' Gopal Chandra Roy protested and a heated argument ensued on the issue.

Responding to the opposition MLAs' demand for a judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge, Minister Nath said that let the magisterial probe finished first, then the state government would think over the demand of the opposition. 

Eight people, including three children, were electrocuted to death while 32 others were seriously injured on June 28 after a chariot made of iron came in contact with an overhead high-tension wire in the Kumarghat area in northern Tripura.

A police spokesman said that the chariot taken out on the occasion of 'Ulto Rath', the return journey of the annual Rath Yatra procession, was carrying the idols of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra.

Eyewitnesses had said that hundreds of devotees were pulling the rope of the chariot taken out by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which came in contact with the 11,000-volt high-tension wire, as proper precautionary measures were not taken.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled the deaths and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased.

The Tripura government and various other organisations also have given compensation to the families of the victims.