PURI: The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Sunday arrested a person in connection with Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express fire mishap in which three coaches were gutted at Puri railway station. The accused Ashok Pradhan belongs to Haladia village under Brahmagiri police limits.
GRP Inspector Santosh Kumar Bahinipati said several theft cases have been pending against him at Puri GRP outpost for stealing belongings of passengers. During verification of CCTV footage, it was found that Ashok was loitering on platform number 4 where the train was stationed on March 22. Later, he set the train on fire.
During interrogation, Ashok confessed that he was angry with the GRP for driving him away from the railway station with a warning not to enter it. Furious over the police behaviour, Ashok sneaked into the station to avenge his humiliation and set the train on fire, the official said.
On March 22, a massive fire broke out when the train was being cleaned at the station at about 12.50 pm. The fire is said to have originated from S4 coach and later spread to other adjacent coaches. While S4 coach was totally engulfed in fire, two other coaches, S3 and S5, were partially damaged. Three fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.