A day after the powerful explosion at Gulf Oil Corporation in Kukatpally, the police have intensified their probe to zero in on the persons responsible for the blast, which claimed the lives of two employees — S. Prasad Kumar and C. Arjun Sekhar.
A team from the office of Controller of Explosives from Nagpur also inspected the spot on Friday.
The Kukatpally police registered a suo motu case under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC along with Explosives Substances Act against the management and samples were collected from the spot to ascertain the exact reasons for the explosion.
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“We will first identify the persons responsible for the ghastly incident and later take action against them. Experts opinion will also be taken before coming to a conclusion on the exact causes,” said ACP Kukatpally M. Malla Reddy.
The victims — Kumar and Sekhar — were attending to the leftover work when the explosion occurred, the ACP said. The two bodies were handed over to the families after an autopsy at the Gandhi Hospital mortuary.
Qutbullapur MLA and the Company Employees’ Union president, K. Srisailam Goud, said the company has agreed to pay an ex-gratia of Rs.6.5 lakh to the bereaved family. Initially, the firm wanted to pay Rs.1.5 lakh compensation as victims were working as casual labourers but after many deliberations, it agreed to pay an ex-gratia of Rs.6.5 lakh to the family members.
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There are over 800 employees working in the company. Of them, 325 are permanent employees, while 400 are working on contract basis.
The employees criticised the management for failing to implement safety measures even after witnessing two major explosions in 2003 and 2011.
“It’s a nightmare for us everyday. Given the precarious situation, we are not sure whether we would come out alive or not,” an employee said under the condition of anonymity.