BHUBANESWAR: The city police and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) are expected to record the statement of Harshvardhan Srivastava, the chief engineer who was carrying out the maintenance work in the LPG unit at Raj Bhavan Square filling centre when it exploded on October 7 last year, soon.
Srivastava had been injured in the blast and was being treated at AIIMS, New Delhi. He has been discharged from the hospital recently.IOCL had awarded the contract to Faridabad-based Surya Shakti Vessels Pvt Ltd to carry out maintenance of the LPG unit. Srivastava, a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, was the chief engineer on-site. Two persons were killed in the explosion at the filling station.
PESO officials said they contacted Srivastava’s employer recently and asked to send him to Odisha for questioning. The employer, however, informed that he is not in a condition to travel from Uttar Pradesh to Odisha at present. “The inquiry will not be complete until Srivastava is questioned”, said a PESO official.
Commissionerate Police probe into the incident had revealed that IOCL’s award of tender was faulty as it was given to a firm which was not competent to carry out inspection and maintenance at the LPG unit under SMPV Rules.