Baddi perfume factory fire: After plant head, his deputy also arrested for negligence

Tribune News Service

Solan, February 5

The Barotiwala police arrested Vinod Kumar, deputy plant head of perfume manufacturing unit, NR Aromas, late last evening. Vinod (41) hails from Pratap Nagar in Ratlam city of Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, plant head Chandershekhar was arrested on Saturday for negligence and various sections of the IPC.

An FIR was registered at the Barotiwala police station on February 2 under Sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC after the unit was gutted in a massive blaze on Friday.

Five workers have died while another five are yet to be traced on the fourth day today.

Ashok Verma, Baddi Additional SP, said Vinod Kumar, deputy plant head of NR Aroma, was arrested last evening from Barotiwala on the basis of statements of the workers who alleged his negligence as he was overall in-charge of the factory operations.

He said information pertaining to building approval, products used and their storage, clearances from regulatory departments were being sought to proceed further in the case. Though Kumar claims he was not present in the unit when the mishap took place and was out on lunch, the workers contested his claim and said he was present there but did little.

Two teams of police were raiding various places in other states like Madhya Pradesh in search of the unit owner and other senior staff.

Since the police department has requested examination of the spot by the Central Forensic Science team given the complex nature of the fire, a request letter has been written by the state government to the central department today.

Meanwhile, Solan Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma said a joint team of the State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and the Public Works Department examined the unsafe building of NR Aromas. They would work out how to dismantle the unsafe portions and enter the building to search five missing workers. A team of Central Forensic Lab, Chandigarh, and Central Forensic Science Lab had been requested to examine the spot, the DC added.

Non-bailable warrant against three

• The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nalagarh, has issued non-bailable warrant against three accused -- Nilesh Patel, Siddharth Patel and Milan Patel -- all residents of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh
• They occupy senior positions in the factory management. Efforts are underway to apprehend them, said DGP Sanjay Kundu. The search operations were underway at the gutted unit
• The police have appealed to the families of missing workers to come forward and provide DNA samples to help identify a body kept at Community Health Centre, Nalagarh, which was charred beyond recognition

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