3-member panel to probe explosion at GNDU lab

Amritsar, August 29

A departmental committee has been constituted by Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) authorities to look into the recent incident of an explosion that occurred at a chemistry lab in the university. A student was critically injured in the incident.

The three-member committee will consist of Head of Department of Chemistry Dr Sukhpreet Singh; senior professor of chemistry Prof Kamaljeet Singh and a retired professor, Manoj Kumar.

The HoD said: “Terms of reference include probing the cause of incident and give specific reasons behind the mishap; to design a standard operating procedure for such experiments so that such cases can be prevented in future and to give suggestions for further safety of students. The enquiry report will be submitted within two or three days.”

He said contrary to earlier reports, the laboratory was a medicinal chemistry research lab. “Raw material was being used for research in medicinal chemistry and during preparations, the experiment turned aggressive and an explosion was caused. The damage to the laboratory is minimal and we will be further assessing the damages during the enquiry,” he said.

He also gave an update on the treatment and recovery of the student, who got serious injuries in her eyes due to the explosion. “The surgery on her left eye has been performed and the one on the right eye will be done. She is recovering,” he said.