A Crime Branch team headed by Inspector General (IG) B. Sandhya will visit Chala here on September 8 in connection with the investigation into the gas tanker accident there that claimed 19 lives and injured over 20 persons.
Police officers who conducted preliminary investigations into the circumstances leading to the explosion of the LPG tanker lorry at Chala late on August 27 said the scheduled visit of the Crime Branch
team on Saturday followed the Government Order handing over the investigation to the Crime Branch.
The tragedy-hit area is slowly returning to normality. The condition of the injured who were admitted to hospitals here has improved and they are stated to be out of danger. Local people in Chala said it would take months before the memories fade of the inferno that had engulfed the residents on either side of the road where the Indian Oil Corporation's tanker exploded. Some of the families hit by the tragedy lost more than one member. The accident had also caused immense damage to properties and crops in the area.
The total loss is estimated at Rs. 5.5 crore..
The police have already registered a case against the tanker lorry owner Durairaj of Tamil Nadu under Section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).. The preliminary finding was that the tanker lorry that met with the accident lacked the adequate safety measures mandatory for tanker lorries carrying gas.
