At least six workers were charred to death and 10 others were injured after a major fire broke out in an illegal candle manufacturing factory at Jyotiba Nagar Talawade in Pimpri-Chinchwad at 2:49 pm on Friday.
Nasir Shikalgar, owner of the unit, was arrested late at night by Pimpri-Chinchwad police.
Shikalgar had rented the factory space to Sharad Sutar, where Sutar runs his firecracker candle brand ‘SNS’ registered under Shivraj Enterprises.
A case has been registered at Dehu Road police station against the accused under sections 9(B) of the Explosives Act and sections 304(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the Pimpri-Chinchwad police, at least 16 workers, including 15 female workers, were inside the factory when the fire broke out.
The deceased includes six women, and their identity is yet to be ascertained and the probe is under process.
The injured workers have been identified as Shilpa Rathod, 31; Pratiksha Torane, 16; Apeksha Torane, 26; Kavita Rathod, 45; Renuka Tathod, 20; Sharad Sutar, 45; Komal Chaure, 25; Suman, 40; Usha Padave, 40; and Priyanka Yadav, 32. Eight of the injured persons namely Usha Padave, Kavita Rathod, Renuka Tathod, Komal Chaure, Sharad Sutar, Priyanka Yadav, Suman and Apeksha Torane were immediately rushed to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri.
After primary medication, they were referred to Sassoon General Hospital, Pune. The remaining two seriously injured persons were directly shifted to Sassoon General Hospital. According to officials, Sutar, owner of the factory, too, was injured in the fire incident.
According to the Pimpri-Chinchwad fire brigade, they received a call at around 2.49 pm immediately after which, a total of eight fire tenders: one each from Talawade, Chikhali and Pradhikaran fire stations; and five fire tenders from the main fire brigade unit, were rushed to the spot. Fire brigade officials said that there were no nameboards present at the site. The factory occupied 200 to 250 square feet and had a tin roof.
Rishikant Chipade, fire officer at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), said, “The factory unit was manufacturing fire candles that are used as birthday candles. It may be due to mishandling that the fire spread in the unit. The factory has only one entry and exit gate which was choked due to which the workers were unable to exit and died inside.”
Omprakash Bahiwal, disaster management chief of the PCMC, said, “Ten ambulances were immediately rushed to the spot and shifted all the injured to the hospital. Two injured were directly shifted to Sassoon Hospital in Pune.’’
Shekhar Singh, municipal commissioner of the PCMC, said, “Prima facie, it seems that it was a sparkle candle manufacturing unit. As of now, it does not look like any other firecrackers were manufactured at the unit. As per our initial investigation, it was observed that the unit was set up in the red zone area of the defence establishment.’’
Singh said that according to the Defence Establishments Act, the entire area was declared a ‘red zone’ however they are collecting more information about the factory and will be able to comment only after that.
Kakasaheb Dole, deputy commissioner of police (zone II), said, “The factory owner Sutar who was also injured in this accident does not have any valid licence to run the factory. His factory is illegal and legal action will be taken against him.’’
With the bodies charred beyond recognition, the police have been struggling to ascertain the identity of the six who died in the fire. The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have decided to conduct DNA tests by collecting samples from the mortal remains of the victims. Some of the survivors are assisting the police in identifying the victims.
“We have decided to conduct DNA and some other forensic tests to ascertain the identity of the deceased,” Dole said.
District collector, Rajesh Deshmukh, Friday evening visited the Sassoon General Hospital to meet the injured persons. He instructed the Sassoon hospital administration to provide all necessary medical help to the victims on an immediate basis. He assured the victims that the district administration stood firmly behind them.
Deputy chief minister and guardian minister of Pune district, Ajit Pawar, instructed that a high-level inquiry be conducted into the incident and strict action be taken against the culprits. Full measures be taken to prevent such mishaps in future. On his X profile, he tweeted, “The fire at Talawade in Pimpri-Chinchwad that broke out in a candle-making factory in Pimpri-Chinchwad has left six people dead. I am deeply saddened by this tragedy. Condolences to the families of those who died in the accident. The injured are undergoing treatment and we pray for their speedy recovery.”
Source - Hindustan Times
Disclaimer: No part of this article was changed except for the headline.