Witness Examination Begins in Puttingal Fireworks Tragedy Trial After 10 Years

The witness examination phase of the trial in the Paravur Puttingal temple fireworks tragedy has commenced, ten years after the disaster that shocked the nation. The second witness examined was Adv. Arun Lal of Anandhalayam, a resident living near the Puttingal temple, who testified in favour of the prosecution and stated that his house had suffered damage worth one lakh rupees. The examination of witnesses Raju of Kottukal Subhavanam and Prashanth of Ayndoorkonam Ayanikattu Veedu has been adjourned to June 6. K P Jabbar and Adv. Ambili Jabbar appeared for the prosecution.

The trial is being conducted before Judge M C Anthony, who holds additional charge of the special court. Though a dedicated special court was set up at the T M Varghese Memorial Library Hall in Kollam on the direction of the High Court — following a state government recommendation for expeditious trial — a permanent judge has not yet been appointed. Saturday hearings at the special court are handling the preliminary proceedings of the case.

The Disaster

The tragedy occurred on April 10, 2016, when an explosion tore through the fireworks display held to mark the conclusion of the Meena Bharani festival at the Puttingal Devi temple in Paravur, Kollam. The blast, which struck at 3:11 am, killed 110 people as per official figures, injured 656 — of whom around 500 sustained serious injuries — and damaged 358 houses. Revenue authorities assessed total losses at Rs 2.58 crore.

A decade on, the exact cause of the explosion remains undetermined. The case, initially investigated by local police, was transferred to the Crime Branch, which filed a chargesheet before the Paravur court under case number 1734/2023 with 59 accused. The case was subsequently committed to the District Sessions Court. Of the 59 accused, 15 have since died.

Charges of culpable homicide amounting to murder have been framed against accused numbers 1, 3 to 9, 11 to 16, and 18 to 21. Accused 1 to 15 are office-bearers of the temple management committee; 16 to 20 are fireworks operators; accused 21 led the fireworks display; accused 22 to 25, 28 to 41, and 41 to 55 are workers employed by the fireworks operators; and accused 57 to 59 are those who supplied explosives to the fireworks team. The case has over a thousand witnesses.

As part of the trial proceedings, accused number 30, a native of Adoor, has been declared a proclaimed offender. Following detailed arguments on discharge petitions filed by the accused, the court discharged accused numbers 55 to 57. Chargesheets have been served on all remaining accused. Following the passing of Special Prosecutor Paripally Raveendran, Adv. K P Jabbar has been appointed as the new Special Prosecutor