Nagpur: A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against 21 promoters, directors, managing directors, shareholders, and senior officials of SBL Energy Ltd at Raulgaon village in Nagpur district, where a powerful blast on Sunday killed 19 workers, mostly women, and left 23 injured.The Kalmeshwar police applied Section 105 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which a non-bailable, cognisable offence punishable with up to life imprisonment or a minimum of 10 years plus a fine and Sections 125(A)(B) and 288 for endangering life and negligent handling of explosives.In the last 24 hours since the blast, police arrested 11 senior personnel, including vice-president Chandrashekhar Rajwad, managing directors Rakesh Tiwari and Ravi Kamra, senior general manager Sandeep Solanki, general manager Pradeep Sharma, production managers Roshan Raut and Nilkalam Dongre, production supervisor Pankaj Pandey, loading supervisor Sudhakar Uparkar, and building in-charges Rajendra Pardhi and Vilas Malve.As per preliminary investigations conducted by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), safety violations triggered the massive explosion. The major lapses pointed out included failure to appoint a qualified safety officer as mandated under the Explosives Rules 2008, absence of CCTV surveillance at designated places, installation of boilers outside approved layouts, and storage of explosives far beyond permissible limits. The experts also found the labourers were not adequately trained and groomed for the high-risk job.Rules require daily clearance and removal of accumulated explosives after each shift to prevent build-up, but the experts found the company didn’t follow this, leading to hazardous accumulation that fuelled the intense blast.The blast occurred around 7am-7.30am in building 16(B) where workers handled detonators. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local fire services, and police extricated the workers from debris amid raging fire.Officials had confirmed 18 deaths on Sunday and 24 injured workers were rushed to hospitals across Nagpur. Of the 24 injured workers, 18 of them were reported to be critical with severe burns and trauma. One of them passed away on Monday, taking the toll to 19.
