Air India Express plane crash: A salute in honour of good samaritans lands Kerala cop in trouble

A salute by a police officer to groups of volunteerswho helped in evacuating the Air India Express plane crash victims here has landed him in trouble with an enquiry being ordered into his conduct. Nizar A, a senior civil police officer of the control room here, had saluted the young volunteers, who had participated in the rescue operations on Friday and are now in quarantine at Kondotty here.

A photograph of the police officer's gesture has gone viral on social media. Malappuram District police chief U Abdul Kareem said the policeman, who was deployed at the airport to ensure public do not crowd at the place of the mishap site, visited two quarantine centres on his own. An enquiry has been ordered and a report expected in two days' time.But there was no possibilityof taking any stringent action against Nizar, he told PTI.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

"There is no protocol as to who all a policeman can and cannot salute. Hence, the act of the police personnel cannot be regarded as illegal," the SP said. Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan has also said the policeman's act should be condoned. Many netizens also have also come out in support of Nizar.

Those involved in the rescue work after the Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board crashed at the Karipur airport here have been advised to go on quarantine after samples of one of the passenger who died tested positive for Covid-19.

The volunteers had rushed to the accident spot unmindful of the heavy rains and Covid-19 fears and the injured were taken immediately to various hospitals, thus saving many lives, drawing praise from various quarters, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Air India Express has also acknowledged their role in evacuating the passengers. "We at Air India Express take a bow to the people of Malappuram who have risked their own lives to save many. WE OWE YOU!" the airline had tweeted. Eighteen people, including the pilot andco-pilot, were killed and 100 odd injured in the mishap.