Dombivli boiler blast: Police detains two owners of factory where blast killed 9 and left over 60 injured

Rescue operations were launched on Thursday following the incident. File Pic/Satej Shinde

The police on Friday reportedly detained two owners, including a 70-year-old woman, in connection with the Dombivli boiler blast case where nine people were killed, an official said, reported the PTI.

A massive blast on Thursday at the chemical factory at Dombivli in Maharashtra's Thane district had left over 60 injured and several are undergoing medical treatment in different hospitals, officials said.

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The detained persons were identified as Malti Pradip Mehta and her son Malay Pradip Mehta, he said, as per the PTI.

The Thane Police's crime branch, which is now probing the case, made the detention on Friday, an official said.

Malti Mehta was detained from Nashik, the crime branch said in a release, as per the PTI.

Malay Mehta (38), has also been detained and the local Manpada Police in Thane have taken him into their custody from the crime branch, it said.

According to the PTI, an official from the Nashik police force said they had received information from their Thane counterparts that some of the accused were currently in Nashik. Accordingly, the crime branch officials carried out a search and held Malti Mehta, who is the first accused named in the FIR.

The first information report (FIR) registered at the Manpada police station in Thane named owners/directors Malti Mehta, Malay Mehta and other directors, management staff and officials, who were supervising the factory. They have been booked for culpable homicide and other charges.

The accused have been booked for culpable homicide (section 304), voluntarily causing hurt and negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter and explosive substances under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Besides the IPC, the police have also invoked charges under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Explosive Substances Act.

The company had not taken precautions over mixing of chemicals, final products, and their storage knowing well that any lapses might lead to an explosion which could affect and damage the company and structures around it, says the FIR.

These lapses led to the explosion on Thursday, resulting in deaths on the premises and companies around the factory, the FIR said. The impact of the blast was so severe that it shattered window panes of houses, and damaged cars, roads and electric poles in the factory's vicinity, it said.

The affected chemical factory produced food colours and used peroxides that are highly reactive and unstable chemicals that can cause violent explosions under certain conditions, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was involved in the rescue operations, had said on Thursday.

The blast was so loud that it was heard a kilometre away, an eyewitness said.

(with PTI inputs)