Over 1,000 people gathered at the railway crossing at Vijayambika Link Road near Aroor railway station following the death of five persons in the mishap on Sunday. The crowd blocked train traffic through the area for more than three hours.
Union Minister K C Venugopal, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, local MLA A M Arif, District Collector P Venugopal and K J Jose, Superintendent of Police, reached the place. But the agitated mob did not allow them to visit the accident spot. People raised slogans against them saying that government gives little priority to their safety. The Thiruvananthapuram-bound Nethravathi Express had to halt at the place for three hours. The policemen and locals pelted stones at each other when the police tried to remove the crowd blocking the train.
A sub-inspector and a local resident suffered head injuries in the incident. Meanwhile, the locals placed concrete poles across the railway track preventing train journey through the area. The locals said that they would continue the agitation until Railway converts the level crossing into a manned gate.