Factory owner, unnamed officials of 5 departments booked in ammonia leak case
The Commissionerate Police has booked owner Ninni Kumar Jain in the case of ammonia leak from Jain Ice factory in Jalandhar on Sunday, which claimed the life of one person. In an unprecedented move, the police have also booked concerned officials of Jalandhar Municipal Corporation and Punjab’s Factory, Industry and Pollution department, and State Power Corporation Limited in the case.
While none of the department officials have been named, police said the matter was still under investigation.
An FIR was registered against Ninni and unnamed officials of the aforesaid departments under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of BNS on Saturday night.
The FIR states such a factory being set up in a congested area is akin to playing with the lives of people. It also raises questions on how permission for setting up the factory in such an area could be obtained in the first place.
The FIR said, “The factory owner of Jain Ice factory has set up his factory in a residential area. There are residential establishments around its premises. Such factories can only be set up after the written permission of the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar; Factory Department, Jalandhar; Industries Department, Jalandhar; Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Jalandhar, and the Punjab State Pollution Control Board, Jalandhar. The setting up of such a factory in a congested residential area is akin to playing with the lives of residents. The factory has been set up without permission, as per collusion and conspiracy of the officials of the aforesaid departments, who were deputed then.”
Jalandhar Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma said, “It is too early to comment on the officials involved as the issue is under investigation. Police teams are also on the lookout for the factory owner and he will be arrested soon.”
Jalandhar SDM-I Jai Inder Singh had been tasked with conducting a thorough inquiry on the issue.
A sudden ammonia gas leak at the Jain Ice factory, located near Domoria Bridge on old railway road here on Saturday, resulted in the death of a 68-year-old migrant worker Sheetal Singh. Passers-by reported of suffocation last afternoon and collapsed near the factory after a leak in the factory and the police and administration sprang into action. The area was sealed off, traffic diverted and fire tending and disaster management teams had been rushed to the spot. Several workers were rescued by emergency response teams from the factory.
