AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered a CID probe today into the massive fire, which gutted a huge stock of groundnuts kept in a warehouse in Gondal town of Rajkot district.
In a statement, Rupani said those found guilty in the probe to be conducted by the state CID-Crime, will face stern action.
The incident also sparked a political fight, with the opposition Congress claiming that the stock of groundnuts was set on fire as part of a conspiracy to hide massive corruption in procuring groundnut from the farmers.
An official statement issued by the government said, "Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has decided to hand over the probe into the incident of fire in the groundnut warehouse to the state CID-Crime. Whoever found guilty in the probe will face stern action."
Officials in Rajkot said efforts are still on to douse the flames, which started on Tuesday evening and engulfed the warehouse, where the groundnuts stock, purchased by the state government was kept.
The warehouse owner had claimed that nearly two lakh sacks of groundnuts, each containing 35 kgs of seeds, were kept in the warehouse.
Opposing the BJP government's decision to hand over the probe to the CID, Gujarat Congress demanded an inquiry from a sitting High Court Judge into the incident.
"A week back, our leaders in Junagadh had asked the district collector to take steps to prevent possible damage to the groundnut stock through fire or theft, as we suspected that such things may happen to cover up corruption. This fire in Gondal proved that we were right," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.
"The fire in Gondal is not an accident. This warehouse was set ablaze as part of a conspiracy to destroy the evidences of corruption in procuring groundnut. We want a thorough inquiry from a sitting High Court judge" he added.