MADURAI: Even as the police were continuing interrogating the people detained in connection with the fire accident at the Veera Vasantharayar Mandap in the eastern entrance of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple here, on Tuesday, the sleuths of the National Security Guard (NSG) conducted a routine check. The fire and rescue officials have been fighting to contain the heat by pouring water. Their efforts continued on the fourth day.
With the help of the CCTV footage recorded at the scene of the accident, the police have detained a few persons, including one Murugapandi. “We are continuing interrogation,” said a senior official. He, however, refused to say whether the accident was caused by a short circuit or camphor, or was deliberately started.
Led by SP Rajesh Kumar Pandey, the team also visited the accident site and inspected the safety measures across the temple. The team members had a talk with the Temple Joint Commissioner Natarajan. It may be recalled that a few years back the NSG had alerted the authorities to a possible terrorist threat to the temple. For the fourth day, entry through the east entrance was restricted at the temple. No shops were opened in Pudumandap. All waste and inflammable items were evacuated from the mandap.
Meanwhile, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court sought a detailed report from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) department over the measures taken to prevent fire accidents and over other security measures in all temples across Tamil Nadu and also the steps taken to renovate the gutted Vasantharayar Mandapam in Meenakshi Amman temple.