Thiruvananthapuram, June 1 (IANS) Almost two months after a Delhi resident tried to set the Kannur-bound Executive Express ablaze, a fire was reported in a coach of the same train, two hours after it had ended its journey at the Kannur railway station early on Thursday.

According to police, the train from Alappuzha was stationed when around 1.45 a.m, the station master was alerted of a fire that broke out at the general compartment of the Executive Express.

In an hour's time, the fire was completely doused and soon the Railway Police and the Kerala Police began its probe.

Both the probe agencies have not ruled out foul play as CCTV visuals shows a person moving around with a can.

The area has been cordoned off and the probe agencies suspect that some liquid might have been sprayed as the window panes of the toilet of the compartment were found broken.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 10 (IANS) A 22-year-old woman house surgeon died after a patient, who was brought to a hospital in Kottarakara in a violent condition, stabbed her and four others early on Wednesday.

The woman succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment.

A medical official said the man, who was in a violent condition when brought to the hospital, picked up a surgical blade and attacked Vandana Das multiple times when she was attending to him.

"She was given emergency treatment and shifted to a premier hospital in the capital city. Despite best efforts, her life could not be saved," said a senior Indian Medical Association office-bearer.

According to an eyewitness, the 42-year-old school teacher Sandeep from Pooyapalli in Kollam district, had created a ruckus in his home and was brought to the hospital by police after he suffered injuries.

Sandeep, according to local legislator K.B. Ganesh Kumar, said was undergoing de-addiction therapy.

"It's very sad that despite such incidents happening frequently, no action is taken after a probe. Stringent action should be taken in such cases," said the

film star-turned-politician.

Ironically, the incident took place when some police officials were present at the hospital.

As the news spread, hundreds of doctors rushed to the hospital where her body is kept.

"Despite promises, no action is being taken and hence we are going on a strike. We demand that strict action be taken without any more promises," they asserted.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 8 (IANS) The death toll in the Malappuram boat capsize incident in Kerala rose to 22 on Monday, and rescue operation was continuing as one more person was reported missing.

It has now come to light that the ill-fated boat lacked basic security. The boat owner, identified as Nasser, is on the run and the police have registered a case.

The local Councillor at Tanur pointed out that earlier on a few occasions it had been pointed out that basic security protocols need to be maintained.

Even though only 40 tickets were issued, for children no tickets were given.

According to officials, 10 people are presently admitted in various hospitals, which includes children, while around 12 people were rescued after the boat capsized.

“It has now been identified that one  person is missing and the rescue people are searching for the missing person,” said an official.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan will be reaching the accident site located very close to the landing area of the boat at Tanur.

The state government has declared a day of mourning and all official engagements listed for the day have been cancelled.

Meanwhile, locals point out that the boat -- Atlantic -- was overcrowded and the authorities responsible for keeping a close watch on the safety and security of operations failed to do their job.

“The license of the boat was recently cancelled, but soon it was restored. Even the basic security protocols were not observed. Authorities, despite being told about it, failed to do a clean job,” said angry locals.

State Revenue Minister K. Rajan, who arrived at the accident spot on Monday morning said CM Vijayan will also arrive shortly.

“22 deaths have occurred, 10 people are in hospitals, five swam ashore. The boat was a private one and hence the exact number of passengers is not clear. Seven teams are doing their search in the waters. The government is with the affected  families,” said Rajan.

Thiruvnanthapuram, April 28 (IANS) Shashi Tharoor on Friday expressed his displeasure on a fellow lawmaker and one who also hails from Kerala -- P.T.Usha over her statement in the ongoing protests launched by the wrestlers in New Delhi.

Some of India's top wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik along with Asian and Commonwealth Games medallist Vinesh Phogat are protesting at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, seeking action against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment of women grapplers.

Usha, who currently is a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha and recently was appointed the Indian Olympic Association president, has rubbed many the wrong way on account of her remarks when she said the IOA has an athletes' commission and instead of going on the streets, they could have come to the IOA.

Reacting to this, Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, took to Twitter and wrote: "Dear @PTUshaOfficial, it is does not become you to disparage the justified protests of your fellow sportspersons in the face of repeated & wanton sexual harassment. Their standing up for their rights does not "tarnish the image of the nation". Ignoring their concerns - instead of hearing them out, investigating them & taking just action - does."

Thiruvananthapuram, April 25 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off Kerala's first Vande Bharat train from Thiruvananthapuram railway station.

The excitement of the state getting its first Vande Bharat train has been in the air for the past one week when it arrived here with much fanfare.

Soon after the inauguration, the train is being run only for invitees. The first commercial service will start from Kasargod on Wednesday and will reach here in 7 hours and 50 minutes. The first service from here to Kasargod will begin on Thursday.

While the regular commercial service will have stops at Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Shornur, Kozhikode and Kannur and terminating at Kasargod, the inaugural special train flagged by Modi will stop at more stations.

PM Modi, who arrived at Kochi on Monday evening, reached the Thiruvananthapuram railway station this morning.

After briefly interacting with a group of schoolchildren, who were given the opportunity to travel on the inaugural run, the PM got down and flagged off the train.

The train has 16 coaches of which two are executive with 104 seats.

On its inaugural run, all the who's who in the state capital drawn from various sectors of the civil society were invited and included religious leaders, businessmen and technocrats who were spotted seated in the train since morning.

Present along with Modi during the flagging off were Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, local MP-Shashi Tharoor among others.

On April 17, the first trial run was undertaken till Kannur and after that a furore was raised on why Kasargod is being left out and soon numerous BJP and Congress leaders approached the Centre and then it was extended till Kasargod and then came cries of a stop at Shornur which was also granted.

But what has upset the Vijayan-led state government is that the Centre kept the clearance for the Vande Bharat train a top secret. No one had any clue till the train started from Chennai early this month to Kochuveli station in the capital city.

With the media giving huge attention to its arrival, the cyber team of the CPI(M) and its close supporters have launched a massive campaign with some state minister's also joining stating that Vande Bharat is no replacement for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's yet to be cleared pet project K-Rail.

The campaign gives a comparative table of Vande Bharat and K-Rail and the table gives all details except the cost factor of K-Rail which is close to Rs two lakhs crore.

Thiruvananthapuram, April 21 (IANS) In a bizarre case at a premier hospital in the heart of the Kerala capital, a newborn baby was sold to a woman for Rs 3 lakh, and state Health Minister Veena George has ordered a probe into the matter.

The incident came to light when the Child Line group here got a lead of a baby being sold and began probing.

Child Welfare Committee Chairperson Shaniba said it was the efforts of the Child Line which led to this being found out.

"They, along with the woman who had taken possession of the new born came before us. On detailed questioning, the woman, after initially refusing to admit that the baby was 'purchased', later agreed that it was not her baby, and instead she had purchased it," she said.

"The Special Branch police is now probing the case and the details of how this took place will come out and the person who sold the baby and the person who purchased the baby will all be proceeded against the Juvenile Justice Act," she added.

Shaniba said the CWCA has taken custody of the baby and all the care is being given.

Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 (IANS) Sixteen days after 27-year-old Delhi youth, Shahrukh Saifi, set ablaze passengers on a train bound for Kannur, on Monday the head of the special investigation team of the Kerala Police said the youth was "a highly radicalised personality".

Speaking to the media on Monday, SIT head M.R. Ajithkumar said that each and every detail of what he did right from the time he boarded the train from Delhi, reached here and till he got arrested from Ratnagiri has been found out.

"We have got all the details of what he did and he has been identified as a person who is highly radicalised. He has been watching such videos. At the moment it's early to say if he has got help from other quarters," said Ajithkumar.

"We have found out that he came with the motive to do what he did. You can also find out for yourself about the area from where he hails. Our probe has been done with the support of other national agencies and other state agencies. UAPA charges have also been levied on the accused," added Ajithkumar.

The probe team has found out that he was travelling alone from Delhi and though he took a ticket to Kozhikode, he got down at Shornur on April 2nd morning.

Then till he boarded the train to Kannur on Sunday late evening. He spent time at Shornur from where he purchased petrol from a fuel filling station, which has also been identified, after the auto driver who took Saifi confirmed this with the probe team.

After the train that he boarded from Shornur left Kozhikode, Saifi arrived at the D 1 compartment and doused passengers with petrol and set them on fire.

While three passengers in fright jumped out of the moving train, and were later reported dead on the impact of the fall, nine others also suffered burn injuries.

Saifi then reached Kannur on the same train and after a few hours boarded another train and reached Ratnagiri, from where he was arrested by a team of the Anti-Terror Squad of Maharashtra Police based on a tip off from Central agencies on April 5. The next day he was brought to Kozhikode in kKerala and after a day in the hospital, he has been in the custody of the Kerala Police probe team ever since.

In the remand report, the police have held Saifi responsible for the death of the three including a girl, though he has said that he was not responsible for it.

Now the question is will the NIA which is closely monitoring the ongoing probe take over.

Thiruvananthapuram, April 7 (IANS) Shahrukh Saifi -- prime suspect in the Kerala train fire case which claimed three lives -- was sent to 14-day judicial custody on Friday.

Accused of setting fellow passengers ablaze on a moving train, 24-year-old Saifi is currently undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College hospital.

He was hospitalised after being taken into custody from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra as he had suffered injuries and his bilirubin levels were high.

On Thursday, after the medical examination tests revealed that he had suspected jaundice, the local magistrate arrived at the hospital this morning and decided to send Saifi to judicial custody.

Soon after the magistrate left, the medical board met and after assessing the medical condition of Saifi decided that he could be discharged.

The police will now decide to which jail he should be taken to.

With Saifi being sent to judicial custody, the Kerala Police probe team will have to move the court for his custody for questioning and evidence collection. They will take him to Ratnagiri from where he was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad with the help of the Central agency on Wednesday.

Saifi was driven down to Kozhikode and arrived at a police camp at around 545 a.m. on Thursday.

It was on Sunday night that Saifi, hailing from Delhi, doused petrol on fellow passengers and set them afire while the train was moving from Kozhikode to Kannur.

Three people, including a two-year-old girl, died after they panicked and jumped out of the moving train. Nine others suffered burn injuries.

The Kerala Police could question him for a few hours on Thursday, after which he was admitted to the hospital. Hence, they are expected to move court to get Saifi's custody.

Thiruvananthapuram, April 3 (IANS) The Kerala Police on Monday released the picture of a suspect who set his co-passengers on fire inside a moving Kannur-bound train.

The release of the picture of the suspect was made from CCTV footage that was recorded around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday night, two hours after he set ablaze the passengers on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express.

Apart from the CCTV, information about the suspect was gathered from eyewitnesses who travelled in the compartment, and managed to help douse the fire.

Earlier in the day, State Police chief Anil Kant told the media that they got vital clues and the case will be cracked soon.

Similarly, national agencies like the NIA have also initiated a preliminary probe into the incident.

On Sunday night, three passengers who are believed to have jumped off the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, were found dead on the track. A two-year-old and his aunt were among the deceased.

According to sources, when the train was about to cross the Korapuzha bridge between Kozhikode and Kannur stretch around 9.30 p.m., a middle-aged man sprayed petrol on passengers and set them ablaze.

Nine passengers, who suffered burn injuries, are undergoing treatment at a Kozhikode hospital, where the condition of three is stated to be serious.

Passengers, who witnessed the gruesome incident, said the culprit was a bearded man in a red-coloured shirt. He came from the D2 compartment into the D1 compartment and committed the crime.

Soon after the incident, other passengers pulled the chain and stopped the train.

The accused then jumped off the train and disappeared under the cover of darkness.

This morning, the CCTV footage showed the accused riding pillion on a bike around 50 metres away from where he jumped off the train.

A bag and a switched off mobile phone were recovered from the spot.

Meanwhile, police sources pointed out that the mobile phone that was recovered from the railway track did not have a SIM, but it has been found out by the probe authorities that the phone was last used on March 30.

The bag contained a piece of paper with a note in English and Hindi about places in nearby Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari. It also had a pair of dress, spectacles, and a bottle containing petrol.

State BJP president K. Surendran said the CCTV visuals indicate that it is the handiwork of anti-national forces. A detailed probe has to be carried out.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condemned the incident and said the police will be able to bring the suspect to book and assured that the treatment of the injured will be taken care of.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that this is an unheard of incident and hence the state and central agencies should jointly conduct the probe to instil confidence in the minds of the travelling public.

Thiruvananthapuram, March 28 (IANS) A bus with 62 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur returning from the famed Sabarimala temple overturned on Tuesday after it lost control, authorities said here, adding that all the passengers were rescued.

The accident took place in Nilakal located in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district.

Pathanamthitta district collector Divya S.Iyer said the police, fire department and the locals managed to rescue the pilgrims and the injured have been moved to a local hospital, while some were taken to the Medical College Hospital at Kottayam.

Local legislator K.U. Jenish Kumar said he would visit the accident site soon.

However there were reports that the condition of the driver is serious.

Thiruvananthapuram, March 7 (IANS) Two para gliders, including a woman, who got caught on an over 100-foot-tall high mast light at the popular tourist destination of Varkala near the state capital on Tuesday, were brought down to ground safely in an emergency operation, officials said.

Those caught on the tall structure included the instructor of the para gliding firm and a woman tourist from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore. After their rescue, they were taken for medical examination.

The two clung on to the lamp post for around 40 minutes as though the fire service and police reached the spot, they were unable to do anything as the ladder of the firemen was not high enough to reach them.

Meanwhile, as a safety measure, the locals had put up a safety net at the ground level and stacked it with mattresses that was brought from the nearby resorts.

The rescue was subsequently accomplished as the high mast light was brought down manually and the two were rescued and was taken for medical examination.

Officials of the licensed para gliding firm say it is possible that there was a change in the wind direction as they jumped out and the instructor was unable to control their descent and they got hooked on the light tower.

Para gliding is a popular sport at Varkala and a good number of tourists engage in it.

Thiruvananthapuram: An Air India Express flight from Dubai to Thiruvananthapuram (Flt no IX540) made an emergency landing at the airport here on Sunday morning after the flight developed a technical snag in the nose wheel of the aircraft. All 156 passengers on board the flight are safe.

The Air India Aircraft made an emergency landing at 5.40 a.m. after the pilot contacted the air traffic control requesting for an emergency landing. The airport immediately declared an 'emergency' at the airport and made all the arrangements at the airport.

The runway was cleared for emergency landing and the flight smoothly landed at the airport, sources in the airport told IANS.

The aircraft was later towed away after all the 156 passengers embarked from it.

The airport sources told IANS that no flights were diverted due to this incident. The Director General of Civil Aviation will conduct an investigation into the incident.