THE TRAIN TRAGEDY.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 December 1921, Page 4

THE TRAIN TRAGEDY.

GBUESOME DETAILS REVEALED. STATEMENTS BY PRISONERS. lif Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright Received Dec. 3, 5.0 p.m. Delhi, Dec. 2. Further evidence regarding the Tirui train tragedy revealed gruesome ans Homewhat conflicting details. A Coimbatore correspondent says that Parakkal Ismail, one of the prisoners examined by the inquiry committee said the prisoners were fed and gives plenty of water at Tirur. The van wat most crowded, and the prisoners wen unable to sit properly. The first tim« the train stopped all asked tfor water but received no answer. The next timi the prisoners called out that many wen fainting and would die, and it would be enough if the doors were opened Witness fainted soon after and remembered nothing more till called to attention at Coimbatore. Witness said the prisoners were sweating profusely and could not breathe. Some were so thirsty that they drank perspiration, sqeezing it from their clothes. Some unsuccessfully tried to remove tha gause from the openings in the sidea of the van. All were obliged to stand, but soon began to fall down, and they then lay on top of each other. They did fight. Another convict declared that on on< occasion a voice outside t old the ptisom ers if they persisted in calling out thej would be shot. A third one deposed that the van was not very crowded, but there was no air. He tried to gel air by putting his mouth near the opening at the bottom of the door. Other evidence related how a prisonei sat with his dying father's head in his lap crying out: “You may tie us Up, but let us have air.” A further allegation was that the people outside, wh< were believed to be Hindus, jeered a) the prisoners, saying: “Aren't you Khalifat people with guns and swords 1 Can’t you take water by force.” Madras advices state that the senioi medical officer of Malabar, giving evidence at Ponaur, stated that the sun viving prisoners received every attention. In the course of proceedings al Coimbatore he also expressed the opinion that the prisoners were asphyxiated, too many being in thq van both for air and floor space. Even with the ventilating gauze removed he was not sure -the van was fit for conveying human beings. The district medical officer denied that any of the bodies were mangled, but expressed the opinion that he would not recommend carrying 100 prisoners in such a van.—Reuter Service.