Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, July 28: The axe is likely to fall on some R&B officials of Basohli Division and the Police personnel of Bani Police Station as the inquiry report of the Sub Divisional Magistrate, ordered by the District Magistrate Kathua to investigate the circumstances which led to a powerful explosion inside Police Station, at Bani on July 23, 2012 has put the Police and R&B officials into the dock.
The one man inquiry conducted by the SDM Bani Rajinder Sharma, on the directions of the District Magistrate, Kathua Ms Zahida Khan, raised some sharp questions on the functioning of the R&B officials in the area while handling the highly explosive material used for blasting rocks during construction of roads and negligence on the part of Police personnel and their casual approach in the upkeep and ensuring ‘safe custody’ of the explosives.
While the police and R&B officials tried to save their skin and also issued conflicting statements both to the inquiry officer and the media, but the report has clearly indicted both the agencies, raising some pointed questions. It indicated that placing two cops under suspension by a senior officer of the police department was a justified move but not enough weighing the quantum of damages caused and gravity of major security lapse. SHO and concerned AEE / AE etc can’t escape their responsibility while handling such an highly explosive material, it maintained.
There are certain questions still un-answered which raise finger of suspicion towards the act of possible pilferage of explosive and going in to the wrong hands. No record of issuance of explosive, its use and balance etc was found in the stock register which was seized by Inquiry Officer and his team. The box of explosive material was lying outside the store room and it was not even locked and had a steel wire used to just lock it. The PWD officials including AEE Bani Sub Division, Executive Engineer R&B Basohli and even the Chief Engineer R&B Jammu in statements to the media told that explosive did not belong to them.
The SDPO Basohli Mohd Rafiq and SHO Bani Insp Mohd Aslam Mir claimed that PWD people used to visit the Police Station as the agency had been engaged in construction of new Police Station building in the same premises. But it was found that it was not PWD but Police Construction Corporation had been engaged for the construction of new building. Now, question arises why the deceased Mohd Iqbal Work Supervisor of PWD had gone to Police Station when no work of PWD was going on inside ‘Thana’? Why deceased Mohd Iqbal tried to dispose off blasting material inside PS Bani and why no senior officer of R&B like XEn, AEE, AE or JE etc did not supervise? Why police personnel from ‘Thana’ did not stop deceased Mohd Iqbal, work supervisor from disposing it off inside Police Station ? If the blasting material/ explosive was unserviceable/ expired and needed disposal, who gave permission for the same? Why police personnel allowed deceased supervisor to open the store room or operate without any letter of request/ indent issued by XEn/ AEE or AE of the R&B? The inquiry, report however, failed to recommend as who will make up the damages/ losses caused to the public property in the explosion at Bani.
The report in the possession of Excelsior further revealed that on the inspection of the store where explosive was kept, it transpired that no precautions whatsoever, were taken for the safe custody of the highly volatile material. Even gelatin rods, detonators and fuse wires were found packed together in the same steel trunks. It seems that higher officers did not pay any attention towards the safe upkeep and disposal of the blasting material, instead they pushed on the non-technical people to handle such dangerous job and never supervised such operations. The perusal of stock register of blasting material of R&B revealed that some detonators and fuse wires were in unserviceable condition, when asked who certified it to be unserviceable and why it not attested on the stock register, they were without any answer.
Again the daily ‘Roznamcha’ of Police Station was also found not containing any report of blasting material taken or used by the executing agencies on the dates mentioned in the stock registers of blasting material of both R&B and PMGSY. The report is still not certain whether explosive disposed off belonged to R&B, PMGSY or any other agency. Interestingly, AEE Amarjeet Singh, his AE and two Junior Engineers concerned, stated that they never visited store room of explosives located at Police Station Bani and keys of the store room always remained with the deceased work-supervisor.
Amarjeet AEE claimed that he received a call from supervisor 2-3 days before the day of explosion that a police personnel had contacted him to shift one trunk of blasting material to the store room of PWD located inside the Police Station. AEE claimed that he asked Mohd Iqbal to go and see whether this material belonged to them or not. But thereafter, Iqbal did not contact him and he came to know about the incident only after it happened. Now, if all other material was lying in lock and key, how this box of explosive was left out unsafe, it is something ‘fishy’. The two injured daily wagers of R&B Bishamber Dass and Deep Raj, who were accompanying the deceased told that cops asked them to shift the rotten box to store, shifted recently to the bathroom of new building complex (under construction). They said that they found old trunk of explosive lying outside the store room. On the directions of supervisor, they separated detonators and old gelatin rods and helped in packing explosive in two used cement bags. They told it would be more than 10-12 kg. They tried to dispose it off by burning and no cop inside Thana stopped them in doing so or bothered to ask what were they doing. All of sudden huge explosion took place and thereafter what happened they did not know. Supervisor lit the fire and was much closer to the explosive that time. Earlier, they had thought to wash it away in Sewa river but then left the idea. In the report, the SHO Bani Mohd Aslam and 2nd incharge SI Raj Kumar denied any knowledge of the old steel trunk of explosive lying outside the store room. If police disowns, R&B/ PMGSY officials deny, then whose explosive was lying inside Thana, it is still a major issue to be settled.
The report concluded that accident took place due to gross negligence of both R&B and police personnel at Bani Police Station including CRPF deployed there. Had the supervising officers of the rank of AEE, AE or JE from R&B supervised the disposal/ shifting of explosive material and had the securitymen deployed at the Police Station performed their duty with utmost professional ethics and acumen, the tragedy could have been averted. The practice of making lower subordinate staff wholly in charge of blasting material is highly deplorable and should be done away immediately by the R&B authorities, the report said.
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