The Maruthaiyarth Bridge, located on the way from Ariyalur railway station to Chillakudi, was an essential railway bridge connecting Chennai to Trichy. The decision was made to demolish the bridge as no trains were coming through, and it was decided that the public would be informed of the decision through posters. Three committees were established for this purpose, including one to blow up the bridge, one to post the information publicly, and another to inform the railway stations about the blast.
On March 14, 1987, the Malaikotta express left Chennai for Trichy at 10 pm and was expected to arrive in Ariyalur at 4 am the following day. However, at 3:10 am, a loud explosion was heard at the Marudaiyaru bridge. A phone call was received by Daniel, the Ariyalur Reserve Road Assistant Officer, about the blown-up bridge. However, he didn’t believe it until the Chillakudy Reserve Road Officer confirmed the news.
It was discovered that the Malaikot Express had crashed when the train should have reached Chillakudy station eight minutes after departing Ariyalur station, but still, after 15 minutes, there was no train. A search party located the train at the Marudaiyarth Bridge, where it had crashed as the bridge had collapsed. 26 people died, and around 90 people were injured in the accident following the blast.
A Tamil newspaper published on the same day reported that a phone call was received with information about a bomb in the Marudaiyaru bridge before the train departed Ariyalur station. Railway employees tried to stop the train, but it left a few seconds later, and as the engine touched the other side of the bridge, it was suddenly derailed and fell off the bridge. In the incident, more than 50 people died, including 36 passengers in the air-conditioned compartment of the train, and several others were injured.
Many people claim that the Tamil Liberation Army’s goal was to gain attention by destroying the bridge, and not to cause a train accident. Tamilarasan and other members of the Tamil Liberation Army were registered in a case regarding the incident. However, they were beaten to death during a failed bank robbery attempt at Ponparappi. The liberation film depicts scenes that resemble the train accident and the liberation forces’ subsequent search.
Bomb blast
On the way from Ariyalur railway station to Chillakudi is the Maruthaiyarth Bridge. This bridge is an important railway bridge connecting Chennai and Trichy. It was decided to demolish this bridge and take charge of it as no trains were coming. It is said that it was also decided to tell the public through posters why we did it. Three committees have been formed for this purpose. It is said that there were three groups, one group to blow up the bridge, one group to get this message to the people through posters, and one group to convey the message to the railway stations when the bomb went off.
The information came
Now let’s come to the incident. On March 14, 1987, the Malaikotta express train left Chennai for Trichy at 10 p.m. It was said that the train would reach Ariyalur the next day (15th) at 4 am. Let’s see what happened as reported by BBC. On March 15, 1987, at 3.10 in the morning, a huge explosion was heard at the Marudaiyaru bridge. In this regard, a phone call was received by the Ariyalur Reserve Road Assistant Officer Daniel. In it, it was said that the Marudaiyattu bridge was blown up with a bomb. But Daniel didn’t believe it. After a while the Chillakudy Reserve Road Officer also gave this information over the phone. Daniel still didn’t believe it.
26 people lost their lives
Then the reserve line officer called again on the phone and said that the train coming to Tiruchirappalli should be stopped midway. Daniel disagreed. Malaikottai Express from Chennai to Trichy has arrived at Ariyalur station at 4.35 am. Departed at 4.37. The train should reach Chillakudy station in eight minutes. But even after 15 minutes, the train did not reach Chillakudy. After that, the Chillakudy Reserve Line Officer went in search of the train. When he went to the Marudaiyarth Bridge, he saw that the Malaikot Express had crashed as the bridge had collapsed. 26 people died in this accident. The BBC reported that 90 people were reportedly injured.
The train is gone
Meanwhile, according to the news published by a famous Tamil newspaper on that day, on 14 March 1987, the Malaikotta express train departed from Chennai to Trichy at 10 pm. The train reached Ariyalur the next day (15th) at 4 am. A large number of passengers were boarding and alighting from the train station. In no time a phone call came to Ariyalur railway station. The employee who spoke at the other end said that information has been received that there is a bomb in the Marudaiyaru bridge. Alarmed by this, the railway employees rushed to the platform to stop the Malaikottai Express train. But the train left a few seconds later. What will happen next? They were under the impression that
36 people died
At the same time the train arrived at the Maruthaiyartu railway bridge between Ariyalur-Chillakudy. As the engine touched the other end of the bridge, suddenly there was a terrible sound of ‘Damar’. The next moment the engine derailed and fell under the bridge. The boxes attached to it stood in disarray, bumping into each other and some boxes dangling under the bridge. In particular, the refrigerated box was crushed when it fell from the bridge. Everywhere the passengers’ screams and death cries rang out. After a short while, the police and people from neighboring villages came to know that the train coaches had overturned and started rescue operations. In this incident, more than 50 people, including 36 passengers in the air-conditioned compartment of the train, died on the spot. Many others were injured. A Tamil newspaper has said this.
Tamil Liberation Army
Meanwhile, people close to the organization have said that the purpose of the Liberation Army was to attract attention by destroying the bridge and not to overturn the train. In this case, a case was registered against Tamilarasan and other members of the Tamil Liberation Army. After this, on September 1 of the same year, five people, including Tamilarasan, were beaten to death during an attempted bank robbery at Ponparappi.
train accident
As far as the liberation film is concerned, the first part contains only scenes similar to the train accident and the subsequent search by the liberation forces. Apart from this, many say that the film also depicts an incident similar to the 22-23 June 1992 police violence in Wachhatti.