Mizoram: One held for intentionally setting tanker on fire that claimed 11 lives

Mizoram Police on November 16 apprehended a person for allegedly setting a tanker on fire which claimed several lives on October 29.

According to the state police report, one Tank Lorry carrying 22,000 litres of petrol which was to be delivered to the Champhai district met with an accident within the vicinity of Tuirial Airfield by turning a turtle on the main road.

Subsequently, a lot of people gathered at the site and started collecting and storing the spilled petrol in plastic cans and other items from the vehicle.

The spilling petrol suddenly caught fire at about 5:50 PM following which four persons were burnt to death on the spot, while 17 persons got injured in the inferno.

The injured persons were immediately taken to various Hospitals for medical treatment and the police team and fire tenders immediately reached the spot to douse the fire.

The Place of Occurrence (PO) was minutely inspected with the help of the FSL Team and it appeared that the cause of the accident of the truck was due to rash and negligent driving on the part of the driver and when the people started collecting the spilling petrol, someone apparently lit a lighter or was smoking, which ignited the highly inflammable petrol, resulting in the very unfortunate and tragic accident leading to loss and severe burn injuries to precious human lives. 

After a proper investigation by the police, one youth of Tuirial veng reportedly saw one person apparently igniting a lighter in the middle of the road near the Tank Lorry and then running away towards Tuirial. 

The said youth identified as TBC Lallawmawma (28) s/o Lalremliana (L) of Tuirial was traced and then thoroughly examined and later was taken into police custody, on midnight of November 1.

During sustained interrogation, the accused admitted his guilt and stated that on a fateful day, he went to collect the spilled petrol from the Tank Lorry; however, as there was a huge crowd engaged in collecting the spilled petrol and due to the chaos, he was unable to get enough petrol. 

Infuriated, he came out in the middle of the road and lit a lighter and exposed it to a plastic water bottle containing some quantity of petrol collected by him and being carried by him, just to test whether it could burn or not. 

As the petrol caught fire, he threw the burning bottle on the ground which eventually resulted in a big fire accident and he ran towards his home. 

In the evening, when he came to know about the casualties and fatalities due to the fire which he had caused, out of guilt he tried to end his life by hanging from a tree nearby his house. 

However, when his friend and wife saw him, they rescued him by unfastening the noose.
 
The accused was duly arrested in the instant case and forwarded to judicial custody on November 3 after observing all legal formalities. 

Bawngkawn PS C/No 810/22 dt 31.10.22 u/s 279/285/304A/336/337/338/435 IPC r/w 184 MV Act has been registered, and further investigation is in progress. 

Out of the 17 burn victims of the incident who were admitted to various hospitals within Aizawl City, 7 persons subsequently succumbed to their injuries. Thus, the total death toll due to the fire incident has reached 11 to date (including the 4 persons who died instantly at the PO). 

Seven persons are still undergoing treatment.