Chhattisgarh power plant blast: Death toll rises to 21; Cong demands culpable homicide charge
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Raipur (PTI): The death toll in the April 14 blast at Vedanta's power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has gone up to 21 after a worker succumbed to injuries, officials said on Friday.
The explosion occurred in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the power plant located in Singhitarai village.
Fourteen persons are currently hospitalised, five of whom are in critical condition, the officials added.
A worker identified as Kismat Ali from Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli died at a private hospital in Raipur on Thursday night, Sakti Superintendent of Police Prafull Thakur told PTI.
As per officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine succumbed to injuries soon after the incident. Another seven died in hospitals on April 15.
The deceased comprise six labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, they added.
"Of the 14 injured, six are admitted in Jindal Hospital in Raigarh, two each in Balaji Metro Hospital Raigarh, Apex Hospital Raigarh and Raigarh Medical College. One each is undergoing treatment in Shri Shankara hospital and Kalda hospital, both in Raipur. Five are critical," a government official said.
Police have registered an FIR under sections related to causing death by negligence and negligent conduct with machinery.
Eight to ten individuals, including Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal and plant head Devendra Patel, have been named in the FIR, Sakti SP Prafull Thakur had said on Thursday.
A preliminary technical investigation into the blast has found that excessive fuel accumulation inside the boiler furnace led to a pressure build-up, triggering the explosion, police officials said on Thursday.
A report by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Sakti also confirmed that the accumulation of fuel and the resulting excessive pressure were the primary causes of the explosion, they said.
In a press conference here on Friday, Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress MLA Charan Das Mahant sought stricter charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the case.
"Over the last two and a half years, around 300 workers have lost their lives in industrial accidents across the state. The FIR in the Vedanta power plant blast has been lodged under very ordinary provisions. Despite more than 20 people having died, only bailable charges have been pressed," he claimed.
"Our demand is that Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita be applied in this matter. Under the BJP government, industrial safety in Chhattisgarh has been left entirely to the mercy of God. The government has completely bowed down before big industrialists," Mahant added.
He also said an incident of this magnitude must be probed by a sitting High Court judge rather than the sub divisional magistrate.
"Previously, 40 people lost their lives in chimney collapse incident at BALCO plant of Vedanta Group in Korba district (in 2009), and now, 20 people have died. This is a clear case of managerial negligence. In their pursuit of higher profits, the management constructed this factory using Chinese-made goods and scrap materials imported from abroad," the Congress leader alleged.
The accident occurred as a direct result of the use of faulty and substandard machinery, he further alleged.
Mahant demanded advanced treatment for critically injured workers at specialised centres in cities like Mumbai and Coimbatore, adding that a fully equipped burns hospital must be set up in Chhattisgarh.
Talking to reporters here, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said a probe into the incident has been ordered and assured strict action against those found responsible.
He added that arrangements are being made to ensure proper treatment for the injured.
The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry in the incident.
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Kulkarni became victim of BJP conspiracy as he grew politically in North Karnataka: Shivakumar
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Bengaluru (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar claimed on Friday that Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, has become a victim of a BJP conspiracy because he was growing politically in the north Karnataka region.
Stating that he has faith in Kulkarni and believes he has done nothing wrong, he said the former minister will fight the case legally by filing an appeal.
A Bengaluru court on Friday sentenced Kulkarni and fifteen others to life imprisonment in the BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar murder case.
On Wednesday, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, Judge of the Special Court for cases involving elected representatives, convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder.
“I respect the court. But there was a big conspiracy in this case. When the police were about to file a B-report, the CBI was given the case to harass him (Kulkarni). Vinay Kulkarni has become a victim of a BJP conspiracy as he was growing politically in north Karnataka,” Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he said Kulkarni has several legal options.
“I have spoken to his family. He swore on God and told me that he had not done anything wrong. I still have faith in him. I feel that he has not done anything wrong. He has an opportunity to file an appeal,” he said, adding that he stands with Kulkarni’s family and supporters and believes he will get justice.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP zilla panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at the time. Hired assailants allegedly attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym in Saptapur, Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
Veteran BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, under whose tenure the case was handed over to the CBI, told reporters in Chikkamagaluru, “I said what I needed to say when the crime happened, and what I said—that the guilty should be punished and justice should be served—has proven true.”
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, BJP leader and MLC C T Ravi, reacting to the court order, said, “Justice delayed, but not denied.”
