Negligence led to explosion, say police
Virudhunagar district police have blamed negligent handling of explosives by workers at the explosive storage unit in Kariyapatti for the blast that claimed three lives on Wednesday.
The rst information report registered by Aviyoor police revealed that the three workers were not given any safety gears. Similarly, there was no proper supervision when the explosives were being handled at the storage unit.
The FIR underscored that two vans carrying different materials used for blasting rocks were parked closer to each other, violating the safety norms. The van carrying electric detonators and the other van containing nitrate mixture were parked in closer proximity. “Despite being aware that keeping these materials closer to each other while loading and unloading could result in accident leading to loss of life, the negligent handling led to the fatal accident,” the FIR said.
Based on the complaint preferred by the village administrative ocer of D. Kadamankulam, Aviyoor police have booked the case under Sections 286 (negligent handling of explosives endangering human life) and 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the Indian Explosives Act.
Two of the four partners who were running the quarry and the explosive storage unit have been arrested. Superintendent of Police K. Feroze Khan Abdullah said the quarry and the explosives storage unit had valid licence till 2027.
Meanwhile, the bodies of A. Kandasamy, 49, S. Periyadurai, 27, and R. Gurusamy, 55, were handed over to the families after post-mortem on Thursday.
The operators of the quarry and explosive godown have handed over ₹50,000 and cheques for ₹11.5 lakh to legal heirs of each of the deceased workers, the police said.