Four arrested, including factory owner, in Tarapur blaze

Mumbai: The Boisar police on Tuesday arrested four persons in its probe related to the massive fire that broke out at chemical-making factory at the Tarapur MIDC on Thursday night, damaging five other adjoining factories, and claiming four lives until now. The police arrested the owner and three employees of the factory where the fire broke out after an explosion in the reactor, Novaphene Specialities Company. The arrests were made a day after the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) submitted its inquiry report citing negligence on the part of the factory. 

The arrested accused have been identified as factory owner Saral Shah, its manager Hemraj Varasane and its two operators Namdeo Mhatre and Raju Raote. 

Late on Monday, a watchman identified as Nakjeet Singh (62) succumbed to the severe head injuries he had sustained in the accident. Singh’s death took the death toll to four, the other three deceased being  Janu Agariya (23), Pintu Gautam (24) and Aloknath Agariya (25), who passed away on Thursday. 

Prakash Birajdar, senior police inspector of Boisar police station, said, “The accused have been booked under sections 304(A) (causing death by negligence), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. They were were produced in court and remanded in magisterial court for 15 days.”