Owners of gutted Barotiwala unit continue to evade arrest

Ambika Sharma

Solan, February 9

More than a week after a massive fire gutted NR Aromas, a perfume manufacturing unit at Barotiwala, the police were yet to arrest its three owners from Madhya Pradesh.

Though various police teams were camping at their native place in Ratlam as well as Indore, no success has been achieved in nabbing them. The police have arrested plant head Chandershekar and deputy plant head Vinod Kumar so far.

The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nalagarh, has already issued non-bailable warrant against three accused — Nilesh Patel, Siddharth Patel and Milan Patel — all residents of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. They occupy senior positions in the factory management and were not present at Barotiwala when the mishap occurred.

Baddi DSP Khajan Ram said the trio was yet to be arrested though various teams were on their look out at Ratlam and Indore.

An FIR was registered at the Barotiwala police station on February 2 for negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter, act endangering life or personal safety of others, causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Sources said certain explosive items considered hazardous were found stacked in the unit by the unit management. Apart from manufacturing apparel perfume, the company also traded in items not manufactured here. These petroleum-based explosive items were the essential ingredients of some traded items.

“It was being ascertained whether they had secured a licence from the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation for using petroleum products which can’t be used or stored without a requisite licence. The management can face action for this laxity, if proved so. The officials were probing various aspects of the case and reports of the forensic science laboratory were awaited to establish the laxity,” opined an official.

The chemical waste inside the gutted unit was, meanwhile, lifted from the ground floor of the gutted unit today. “One vehicle was sent to collect the waste while two more would be sent tomorrow to complete the task,” said Sudarshan Singh, a senior official of the facility.