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Rupnagar Thermal plant: 4 arrested for bid to tamper coal samples, power minister orders dept probe
Power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Monday ordered a departmental probe into the alleged attempt to tamper the coal samples, which had failed testing, at Guru Gobind Singh Super (GGSS) Thermal Plant, Rupnagar, by private persons.
Power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Monday ordered a departmental probe into the alleged attempt to tamper the coal samples, which had failed testing, at Guru Gobind Singh Super (GGSS) Thermal Plant, Rupnagar, by private persons.
Harbhajan said a departmental inquiry has been ordered “to investigate the role of PSPCL employees in the incident.
“Anyone, irrespective of position one holds in PSPCL, found involved in the incident will face stern action,” the minister added.
Four people have been arrested by Rupnagar police in the case, while two are on the run. An FIR under sections 457 ((Trespass or house-breaking) and 380 (Whoever commits theft) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in this case at Rupnagar Sadar Police Station on March 22, last month.
“Of the six persons named in the FIR, four were arrested, last week. The arrested accused have been identified as Piyush Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Varun Kumar and Pushpinder all working for Quality Service and Solutions (QSS). The remaining two accused, Kailash Kumar and Nakul Gupta are yet to be apprehended,” Police officials said.
The alleged attempt to tamper with the coal samples happened on the intervening night of March 17 and 18 and the employees found the locks of the GGSS lab broken.
As per FIR, in which the chief chemist of GGSS Lab is the complainant, the samples from the rakes supplied by a private supplier Monnet Daniels Coal Washers Limited had failed the quality test and were in joint custody. Coal samples are of great monetary significance as payment worth crores hinges on the quality tests. The referee samples (or secondary samples) were to be sent to a union government lab, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhanbad, for final testing.
The employees of QSS, hired by Monnet Daniels Coal Washers Limited allegedly tried to tamper with the samples in an attempt to benefit the private supplier, the FIR further added.
PSPCL officials said that the coals supplied to the thermal plant are tested on various parameters including ash content; gross calorific value; and moisture content. “If the coal samples fail then PSPCL deducts a certain amount from the final payment. The coal is, however, used by the thermal plant,” the official added.
