SANGAREDDY: Nearly six months after the blast at Sigachi Industries in Pashamylaram, officials of Isnapur municipality on Monday issued death certificates of the missing persons to their relatives, bringing partial relief to families who have been waiting since June.
As many as 54 persons were killed in the accident. A PIL was filed in the high court alleging that both the Government and the factory management had failed to take care of families who lost their breadwinners in the blast. The court expressed serious displeasure over the functioning of officials, questioning why those responsible had not been arrested, and posted the next hearing for December 30, directing officials to appear before the court with the complete investigation report.
With the deadline approaching, officials stepped up action over the past three days, including the arrest of Amit Raj Sinha, CEO of Sigachi, on Saturday night. He was sent to 14 days’ judicial remand.
Although authorities had promised to issue death certificates within three months to the families of the missing persons, they failed to do so until Monday, despite repeated appeals by the victims’ families and union leaders. However, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, officials issued death certificates to the legal heirs of eight deceased persons.
Original certificates were handed over to the relatives of six deceased — Rahul Kumar Sharma, G Venkatesh, Silvari Ravi, Vijaya Kumar, Shiv G Kumar, Akhilesh Kumar, Ifran Ansari and Surynanollu Jastin. Relatives of Venkatesh and Shiv G were given photocopies, as they are not legal heirs.