The owner of Amudham Chemicals, Malay Mehta, was taken by the Ulhasnagar crime branch of Thane police to the reactor blast site to map the original factory where 11 people were killed and 68 were injured last week. The crime branch officials wanted to know where exactly the broiler, reactor, pantry, office and the accounting department were located. Two victims – Riddhi Khanvilkar and Rohini Kadam – worked in the accounting department.
During interrogation, Mehta said he manufactured a chemical used in pesticides and glue products sold across the country. Site inspection revealed that the blast resulted in a 15-20ft deep pit. On Monday evening, after a 12-hour search operation, the leg of an unidentified victim was found at the blast site, said chief of Kalyan fire station Namdev Chaudhary. While at least nine deceased victims were from Amudham, others from neighbouring Sapthavarna and Cosmos company are still missing.
Meanwhile, experts from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) took samples of soil, stone, and plastic drums to ascertain the type of chemicals being stored or manufactured by the company. Their report will be submitted to the crime branch in the next four days. An investigator said they have sought the help of DISH as it’s a technical case and they need to establish who else, besides the owner, should be held responsible.
As per senior police inspector Ashok Koli, Mehta is the prime accused in the deadly blast. He took over the company after his father, Pradeep Mehta, passed away in 2019. Koli said, “Documents reveal that Mehta and his wife Sneha are directors of the firm, while his mother, Malti Mehta, is a shareholder. If the wife’s involvement is established, legal proceedings will be initiated against her.”
State labour minister Suresh Khade also visited the blast site on Monday and assured strict action against the guilty. “It is necessary to investigate how the reactor exploded,” he said, raising the question whether the company was conducting safety audits. “Our government stands behind the labourers,” he said. Meanwhile, the PRO of Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, Madhavi Pophale said JCBs and excavators have been deployed to remove debris from the site.
