Owner of the factory which was gutted in fire has been absconding after he was booked by the police here on Thursday. Station house officer (SHO) of Sector 20 police station, Surinder Singh, said, "After we booked the owner for the fire, he has been missing. We are yet to make any arrests so far".
A fire was reported at Paul Water Treatment Services, Plot number 213, Industrial Area, on Thursday. It took about seven hours for nine fire tenders with 32 rounds of water to douse off the fire. The factory was dealing with water cleaning components which were inflammable. As the chemicals burnt in the fire and made the air polluted, six fell unconscious.
The factory belonged to Dharam Paul, who claimed that he suffered a loss worth Rs 1.5 crore.
He was booked under sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3, 4, 5 under the Explosive Substance Act.
Meanwhile, a committee has been formed by Panchkula deputy commissioner (DC) SS Phulia to probe into the incident. The committee would also check if pollution clearance certificates were issued to the factory owner.