Navi Mumbai chemical company fire: FIR against two directors

NAVI MUMBAI: Turbhe MIDC police have on May 27 registered an FIR of causing death by negligence against the two directors of West Coast Polychem Pvt Ltd, a rubber manufacturing company located in TTC Industrial area in Khairne MIDC, where two employees of the said company were charred to death after a major fire broke out on May 6.
The fire had engulfed three adjacent industrial units and also caused damage to three other companies. The police enquiry report has estimated a total loss of around Rs 17.71 crore suffered by the seven companies due to the fire breakout. The probe into the accidental fire case initially registered by the police revealed that the said rubber company did not have a fire fighting system but only fire extinguisher cylinders were installed.
As per the FIR registered by Rajendra Ghevdekar, assistant police inspector at Turbhe MIDC, the two accused directors of West Coast Polychem Pvt Ltd, identified as Uttam Zunzunwala and Bhartendu Zunzunwala, both siblings, have been booked under section 304A of the IPC.
In the fire breakout at their company on May 6, the charred bodies of the said company's supervisor NS Nair (67) and laboratory technician Nikhil Pashilkar (28), both Kalyan residents, who were trapped in the raging fire was found on the company's terrace and second floor respectively on the next day after completely extinguishing the fire. The duo accused directors had applied for anticipatory bail, that was granted by the court on Monday."
API Ghevdekar said, "Initially, an accidental death case was registered under section 174 of criminal procedure code, for the death of the company's two employees in the fire incident. However, we had conducted an inquest panchnama and the NMMC hospital's postmortem report of the two bodies mentioned that their cause of death as 'Shock due to burns'. On May 10, we carried out an inspection at the said company along with two witnesses, when it was found that the fire had started at the said company, where we did not find any pipeline of fire fighting system. Hence, the company's manager Manoj Mhatre and director Uttam Zunzunwala were questioned about it. They told that their company's building disnot have a fire fighting system or fire alert system, instead they had kept only fire extinguisher cylinders. Also, along the boundary wall of the company, huge quantities of chemical raw materials and end-products was stocked. We even recorded the statements of the kin of the duo deceased employees and they cliaimed that they had died in the fire breakout while on duty at the company on May 6."
He further informed, "The enquiry report of MIDC deputy engineer started that West Coast Polymers Pvt Ltd company at Plot NoA-753, had obtained temporary fire NOC in 2010. It was mandatory for the company directors to install fire fighting system within one year of obtaining temporary NOC and then obtain final fire NOC, which the directors had not obtained till date."