Ludhiana: A local court on Monday sent the owner of the plastic manufacturing factory near Suffian chowk, which had collapsed after fire causing the death of 13 persons, to judicial custody. The court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Gurpreet Kaur refused the police's plea to extend his remand where cops have said they needed time to extract more information from the accused.
Factory owner Inderjit Singh Gola of Model Town Extension was booked under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 285 (Negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of IPC after the collapse of his factory (five-storey Building).
Gaganpreet Singh, counsel for Inderjit Singh, said after his client was produced in the court, he argued that it was administration's failure and now the officials were shifting the blame on the innocent person.
He said police had sought two-day remand of the accused but the court declined the plea holding that the police have already questioned him enough.
The counsel for the accused said in the FIR, the complainant has already said the fire was so intense that it weakened the building resulting in its collapse. He added the fire fighting team didn't have adequate equipment to tackle the fire and it took them long to control fire, due to which the building collapsed.
On the other hand, the prosecution pressed for the police remand of the accused while claiming that it wanted to extract more information from the accused. District attorney Ravinder Abrol said the police had pleaded for one day's remand of the accused for questioning him to get more evidence, but the judge declined the request.
Meanwhile, Inderjeet Singh said he doesn't blame anyone for the mishap.
Friends and brothers of the accused who had gathered outside the court room meanwhile maintained that they were unaware about the cause of the fire. They claimed that the fire department could not control the fire till 12.30pm even after more than five hours after it broke out in the morning.
Gurinder Pal Singh Pappu, accused's close confidante, said the firemen who had come to douse the fire did not even have fire proof jackets and used wet jute sacks, ladders and crane to tackle fire in the multi-storey building. He added that his friend lost everything, money, friends Laxman Dravid, Inderpal Singh Pal, his workers who had been like his children for so many decades.
Factory owner Inderjit Singh Gola of Model Town Extension was booked under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 285 (Negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of IPC after the collapse of his factory (five-storey Building).
Gaganpreet Singh, counsel for Inderjit Singh, said after his client was produced in the court, he argued that it was administration's failure and now the officials were shifting the blame on the innocent person.
He said police had sought two-day remand of the accused but the court declined the plea holding that the police have already questioned him enough.
The counsel for the accused said in the FIR, the complainant has already said the fire was so intense that it weakened the building resulting in its collapse. He added the fire fighting team didn't have adequate equipment to tackle the fire and it took them long to control fire, due to which the building collapsed.
On the other hand, the prosecution pressed for the police remand of the accused while claiming that it wanted to extract more information from the accused. District attorney Ravinder Abrol said the police had pleaded for one day's remand of the accused for questioning him to get more evidence, but the judge declined the request.
Meanwhile, Inderjeet Singh said he doesn't blame anyone for the mishap.
Friends and brothers of the accused who had gathered outside the court room meanwhile maintained that they were unaware about the cause of the fire. They claimed that the fire department could not control the fire till 12.30pm even after more than five hours after it broke out in the morning.
Gurinder Pal Singh Pappu, accused's close confidante, said the firemen who had come to douse the fire did not even have fire proof jackets and used wet jute sacks, ladders and crane to tackle fire in the multi-storey building. He added that his friend lost everything, money, friends Laxman Dravid, Inderpal Singh Pal, his workers who had been like his children for so many decades.
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