In the wake of the Puttingal fire mishap on Sunday, a court in Kollam district asked why there were no temple office-bearers among the several victims of the tragedy.

The Paravur Magistrate court said this when the accused were produced before the court.

The court came down heavily on the Puttingal Devi temple authorities who organised fireworks despite a ban by the additional district magistrate for the temple festival.

The court denied the bail plea of 13 accused and remanded them in the custody of the crime branch till April 20.

Meanwhile, a Manorama News report states that the counsel representing the accused requested the court to include the police in the list of the accused as they failed to take safety measures.

However, the temple authorities pleaded in court that they were not guilty as they were not ready to conduct the fireworks competition and alleged that the fireworks’ contractors conducted the competition.