Bhilai plant’s CEO sacked, two senior officials suspended as toll climbs to 11

RAIPUR: The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bhilai Steel Plant was removed and two senior officials suspended on Wednesday, a day after an explosion in a gas pipeline at the Durg-based unit of the stateowned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) claimed the lives of 11 people.

Union steel minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said CEO M Ravi has been removed with immediate effect; general manager (safety department) T Pandya Raja and deputy general manager (energy department) Naveen Kumar were suspended. Singh spoke to reporters after meeting injured employees of the plant at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai town.

On Tuesday, nine people had died and 14 others were injured in the explosion that took place during a scheduled maintenance job.

Two employees, who were critically injured, died on Wednesday , taking the death toll to 11.

“There was an uneven pressure in the gas pipeline for last two days. As per the protocol, a fire brigade [engine] and ambulance were stationed at the unit before starting the maintenance work. The blast took place after the bolts of a joint in the pipeline were loosened,” said SP Dey, who works in the plant’s Coke Oven Battery complex and is also the president of the Bhilai unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

Inspector general of police (Durg range) G P Singh said that after the police receive postmortem reports on the victims, a case under the IPC Section 304 (A), of causing death by negligence, will be registered followed by an inquiry into the explosion.

Union minister of state for steel Vishnudeo Sai had said on Tuesday that a four-member committee has been constituted by SAIL to probe the incident.