Lucknow: A day after nine pilgrims lost their lives in a fire tragedy inside a stationary train compartment at Madurai railway station, their bodies arrived here from Chennai on Sunday and were sent to their respective districts, officials said. Nine persons were killed and eight others were injured in the fire accident on August 26 at the Madurai railway yard in Tamil Nadu.
The bodies of all the deceased, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, arrived at the Chowdhury Charan Singh airport here in two different flights, Relief Commissioner Naveen Kumar said. At the airport, district-wise hearse vehicles were arranged by the government and the bodies were transported to their respective districts, Kumar added.
Manoharman Agarwal (81) and Himani Bansal (22) of Lucknow, Shanti Devi (67) of Lakhimpur Kheri, Parmeshwar Dayal Gupta (57) of Hardoi, and Mithilesh Kumar (52), Shatru Daman Singh (65), Harish Kumar Bhasin (60), Ankul Kashyap (32) and Deepak Kashyap (20) of Sitapur died in the fire tragedy, officials said.
The nine deceased, bound for Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, embarked on the pilgrimage from Lucknow last week in a private party coach booked by their tour operator, they added. The Southern Railway said a gas cylinder "illegally" taken inside the coach led to the blaze. Various angles, including a possible gas leak, having triggered the blaze are being probed, it said.
Bhasin, who, too, lost his life in the fire, has been identified as the tour operator for this pilgrimage, officials here said on Sunday. On Saturday, the Government Railway Police (GRP) had filed a case against the "tour operator" but did not identify him. Following the incident, the Uttar Pradesh government released Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of four deceased persons on Saturday and the details of legal heirs are being verified for giving financial aid to the remaining five, officials said. (PTI)
