No FIR 6 days after blast; NTPC skirts issue, cops say onus on it

Ravindra Singh Rathee, NTPC’s regional executive director (North), said that as per regulation, they needed to inform all statutory authorities, which they have done. “As per the regulation, we need to inform the labour department, boiler inspectorate and the electrical inspectorate under the Central Electricity Authority of India. That has been done. The information about the incident has been given to the DM and SP,” he said, adding that a district-level magisterial inquiry is going on and the department is investigating the incident as well.

Asked why they had not yet lodged a complaint, Ruchi Ratna, additional general manager (PR) NTPC, said, “NTPC comes under the Factories Act and any accident is duly reported to the Inspector of Factories. As per the Factories Act, intimation has been sent to the labour department apart from the local district administration and other authorities.”

UP DGP Sulkhan Singh said the police do not lodge an FIR on their own in connection with incidents that occur inside an institution. “The matter is very technical. We are dependent on NTPC as we do not know the ABCD of the matter. But we have mentioned details in our general diary,” said Shiv Hari Meena, SP, Rae Bareli.

He further said that if the departmental and magisterial inquiries find someone guilty, the police would then lodge an FIR.

An explosion had occurred on November 1 at the NTPC’s Unchahar plant when the “economiser hopper” (used to capture large ash particles from flue gas) reportedly opened due to extra pressure, releasing high temperature flue gas in unit no. 6.

“Four more have succumbed to the injuries in Delhi over the last two days, taking the toll to 36. Presently, 21 are undergoing treatment in Delhi while 17 injured are admitted in Lucknow hospitals. All the injured admitted in Rae Bareli district hospital have been sent to Lucknow,” said NTPC AGM Ruchi Ratna. In Lucknow, four patients are admitted in Lucknow Civil Hospital, five are at the SGPGI, and eight are in a private hospital.