CHANDIGARH: With four more people succumbing to burn injuries, the death toll in the LPG tanker fire incident rose to seven today. Meanwhile, the Punjab Police has arrested four accused in the case for allegedly colluding with tanker drivers to illegally extract gas from tankers and fill it into cylinders for sale to customers.
On Friday night, around 10 pm, an LPG tanker caught fire after colliding with a pickup vehicle near Mandiala Adda on the Hoshiarpur–Jalandhar road. The blaze spread rapidly, engulfing nearly 15 shops and at least four houses in the vicinity. Two people died immediately after the incident, while 21 others sustained injuries. One more victim succumbed to burns on Saturday.
Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain said Manjit Singh (60), Vijay (17), Jaswinder Kaur (65) and Aradhna Verma (30), all residents of Mandiala, died at a private hospital last night.
Hoshiarpur Civil Surgeon Dr Pawan Kumar said four patients who had sustained more than 90 per cent burns were on ventilator support. He added that immediately after the incident, one person was brought dead to the government hospital in Hoshiarpur, another succumbed to burns at a private hospital, and a third died on the way to the Government Medical College, Amritsar.
Meanwhile, yesterday, residents of Mandiala and adjoining villages blocked traffic on the Hoshiarpur–Jalandhar road for over three hours, demanding compensation and strict action against those responsible. Jain assured the protesters that the injured were being provided free treatment under the Punjab government's Farishta Scheme.
Political leaders across party lines, including several Punjab ministers and MPs, have visited the injured in hospitals. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann yesterday announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and free medical treatment for the injured.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the tanker was turning towards the Ram Nagar Dheha link road when it collided with the vegetable-laden pickup. Both vehicles caught fire.
Hoshiarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Malik said a case has been registered under Sections 105 and 324(4) of the Bhartiya Nyaay Samhita (2023) against unidentified persons, and a detailed investigation is underway. "During an in-depth investigation, it was revealed that the driver of the tanker involved in the accident was identified as Sukhjeet of Pandher Kheri, Police Station Maloud, District Khanna, and at the time of the accident, he was on his way to the residence of Sukhchain Singh alias Sukha, resident of Ram Nagar Dheha." He added, "Sukhchain in collusion with drivers of tankers coming from the gas plant, was illegally extracting gas from tankers using makeshift pipes and filling it into cylinders to sell further to customers."
Malik added that besides Sukhchain, the other accused are Avtar Singh alias Mati of Jandi (Police Station Bullowal, District Hoshiarpur), and Ramesh Kumar and Raj Kumar of Jalandhar. All were arrested yesterday and confessed to their involvement in extracting gas from tankers and selling cylinders illegally in collusion with the drivers.
"From the godown of the above three accused, located near Vishkarma Temple at Mandiala, the police recovered, 40 LPG cylinders, 9 empty oil drums, makeshift pipes (nozzles). A case registered against the driver also. Also seven FIRs are already registered against Avtar Singh as he has a criminal background," he said.
Malik further said, “On Friday around 10 pm, a call was received at the control room reporting that near Indian Oil Petrol Pump, located at Mandiala village on Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road, there was a collision between an LPG gas tanker and a Mahindra pickup loaded with vegetables coming from Jalandhar side, resulting in a massive fire at the spot.”
"Upon receiving the information, Narinder Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, (Rural) and other officials along with the police force, reached the site and initiated the rescue operations with public support. The control room was instructed to immediately dispatch maximum fire brigade vehicles and ambulances to the spot," he added.
The officer said that upon arrival, it was found that the tanker was fully loaded with LPG, and due to the collision with the Mahindra pickup, a gas leak triggered a massive fire. Both vehicles were completely burnt, and the fire spread to surrounding shops and houses along the main road.
“After the fire brigade vehicles and ambulances came and with the cooperation of the public, the fire was brought under control. The people who were burnt and injured were rescued from nearby houses and rushed to the Civil Hospital, Hoshiarpur by the ambulances,” he said.
Additional fire tenders from Jalandhar, Phagwara, Kapurthala, and Adampur Air Force Station were also called in to control the blaze. The tanker and Mahindra pickup were completely charred, and their registration numbers were not legible.