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Giaspura gas leak: SIT quizzes officials, private firm owner for 4 hours
The SIT had summoned the officials to reach the Community Police Resource Centre (CPRC) complex of the police commissionerate and to join the investigation. The questioning continued for more than four hours. SIT to investigate Giaspura gas leak tragedy quizzed officials, private firm owner for 4 hours
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the police to investigate the Giaspura gas leak tragedy, which claimed 11 lives, questioned the chief engineer of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), a district forensic expert, a senior official from the district factory department and the owner of a private firm on Thursday. The SIT asked the company officials to provide data of their vehicles engaged in transporting effluents to the treatment plants.
The SIT had summoned the officials to reach the Community Police Resource Centre (CPRC) complex of the police commissionerate and to join the investigation. The questioning continued for more than four hours.
According to SIT members, PPCB chief engineer Sandeep Bahl, district forensic expert Dr Charan Kamal, and deputy director (factories) Gaurav Puri have joined the investigation and appeared before the SIT to record their statement. The SIT also recorded the statement of the owner of the JBR Technologies, a private firm which was hired to transport effluents from the industry to the treatment plant.
After the gas leak tragedy, locals alleged that the employees of the private firm were not doing their job properly. They also claimed that instead of transporting the effluents to the treatment plant, company employees used to dump the same in the sewage lines.
The SIT has asked the company officials to provide the details of the vehicles which are GPS-fitted. Further, the SIT members said that the investigation is at an initial stage. They are not satisfied with the statements and details provided by the officials of the PPCB, factories department and the municipal corporation. They will summon them again.
The SIT had questioned the officials of various departments on Wednesday also.
As many as 11 people, including two children, had died after inhaling toxic gas at Sua road of Giaspura. Four days after the incident, the police are still groping in the dark as the source of the gas leak has not been found yet.
