The Thane police have formed five special teams to nab the owners of the private chemical factory who are at large after the death of nine persons in a boiler explosion in the plant. Police have registered an FIR against the owners and managerial staff of the plant for culpable homicide.
The Thane police said they have registered a case against Malti Pradeep Mehta and Malay Pradeep Mehta, owners of the chemical factory, other directors, administrators and managerial staff of the company under various sections of the Indian Penal Code in connection with the blast, ANI reported. According to police, the accused are absconding and five special teams have been formed to nab them.
As per the FIR, police charged the management did not take proper precautions regarding the chemical process and the storage of raw materials and final products, which led to chemical explosions. “These lapses led to the explosion on Thursday, resulting in deaths on the premises and companies around the factory,” the FIR said. “The impact of the blast was so severe that it shattered window panes of houses, and damaged cars, roads and electric poles in the factory's vicinity,” it said.
The FIR was registered by the Manpada police in Maharashtra's Thane district around 1.50am on Friday, nearly 12 hours after a blast ripped through the unit of Amudan Chemicals located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC area. According to the FIR, some more people might be buried under the rubble of the factory that collapsed due to a blast in its boiler.
The accused have been booked for culpable homicide (section 304), voluntarily causing hurt and negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter and explosive substances under the Indian Penal Code. Besides IPC, the police have also invoked charges under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Explosive Substances Act.
The affected chemical factory produced food colours and used peroxides that are highly reactive and unstable chemicals that can cause violent explosions under certain conditions, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was involved in the rescue operations, had said on Thursday.
-with inputs from agencies.
