Thrissur accident: Absconding driver arrested as multiple factors probed; rights panel intervenes

Thrissur: Police have arrested the lorry driver in connection with the accident at Kaipamangalam in Thrissur district in which eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed.

The accused has been identified as Tukharam Dobia Khamble, 33, a native of Maharashtra. Police said he was found near the accident site on Saturday in suspicious circumstances and was handed over to them by local residents. His arrest was formally recorded on Sunday.

He is accused in a case registered by Kaipamangalam police under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide.

The arrest comes amid differing views over what led to the crash. While the police's preliminary assessment has pointed to the lorry being parked illegally on the highway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also raised the issue of the car's speed. Questions have meanwhile been raised over the adequacy of warning signs and traffic arrangements at the construction site.

How the accident happened

The accident occurred around 11.40pm on Friday at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, when a car travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur crashed into the rear of a Maharashtra-registered lorry parked on the highway.

According to the FIR, the lorry had been parked illegally on the right side of NH-66 near a barricaded stretch where traffic had been diverted because of ongoing construction work.

Police said the car was travelling at high speed and its driver apparently failed to notice the diversion barricade before the collision.

Six students died at the scene, while two others were declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.

The students were from an engineering college in Dindigul and were travelling towards Kodungallur. Five of the deceased — Surya, Yuvasanjith, Joshua, Murali and Jeeva — were from Dindigul. Santhosh and Prasanna were from Madurai, while Vishva was from Salem.

Multiple factors under scrutiny

The accident has triggered questions over several aspects of the road arrangement at the spot.

A preliminary assessment cited by police said the lorry's unauthorised parking contributed to the crash. At the same time, concerns have been raised over whether adequate warning signs and other safety measures were in place near the diversion.

Questions have also been raised about the absence of proper diversion boards and reflectors. There were allegations that the arrangements to guide vehicles towards the service road were inadequate and that the absence of clear indications may have resulted in the car entering a restricted stretch at speed.

The NHAI, however, has pointed to the alleged excessive speed of the car as another factor. It has also acknowledged that the lorry was parked illegally.

The competing claims have made the circumstances surrounding the crash a matter for detailed investigation rather than a single-factor explanation.

Suresh Gopi warns against blame game

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi called for stringent steps to prevent similar accidents and said blaming one another would not resolve the issue.

Gopi said all stakeholders had made mistakes and stressed the need for safe traffic movement along stretches of NH-66 where construction work was still under way.

He said the NHAI had been "strictly warned" and criticised the tendency to make the issue a public blame game.

"Speaking publicly is a form of escapism," he said, arguing that elected representatives should not shift responsibility to officials or others.

Gopi said proper diversions should be arranged wherever road work had been completed to allow traffic to move safely. He also alleged that the required safety parameters were not being maintained at the accident site.

He pointed to the reported absence of proper diversion boards and reflectors and said the contractor should be held accountable if required safety measures were not in place.

At the same time, Gopi described the lorry driver's alleged reckless driving as a "grave offence" and said the State also had a responsibility to ensure road safety.

He said he had spoken to Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and that police patrolling would be strengthened.

"No mercy is required; instructions have been given to issue fines of Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000 on the spot," he said.

Gopi also said information provided by residents, vloggers and activists on social media about safety lapses should be treated as signals requiring prompt action.

Human Rights Commission orders probe

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has also ordered a comprehensive investigation into the accident.

Commission member V Geetha directed the NHAI's Palakkad Project Director and the Thrissur Regional Transport Officer to submit a report within two weeks.

The Commission said the allegations that unauthorised parking of goods lorries and the failure to install proper signboards contributed to the accident should be specifically examined.

The Commission initiated the proceedings suo motu based on newspaper reports, according to an official statement.

Tamil Nadu seeks details before compensation decision

Tamil Nadu Tourism Minister S Rajesh Kumar said the State Assembly would discuss the accident and that a decision on compensation for the bereaved families would be taken after gathering details.

Calling the incident sorrowful, Kumar said the Kerala government had intervened, completed the post-mortem examinations and handed over the bodies to the families.

"This is a very sorrowful incident for me. The (Keralam) government intervened, conducted the post-mortem here and handed over the bodies. The Tamil Nadu government has been informed," he said.

As the Tamil Nadu Assembly is currently in session, details of the accident and the government's next steps for the affected families would be placed before the House, he said.

Kumar said a decision on compensation would follow an assessment of the victims and the circumstances of the accident.

"In the case of such an accident, how they came here, how it happened, after gathering all this information, the government will definitely take action," he said.