IOC to seek bail for its nine Jaipur officials

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will seek bail for its nine officials arrested yesterday in connection with last year’s fire at the company’s Jaipur depot.

“We will seek bail for those arrested. We are seeking further legal opinion. As and when the verdict is passed at the local level court, we will challenge it,” said a senior company official.

The Rajasthan Police have booked the nine officials, including its General Manager for Rajasthan operations, under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (causing death due to negligence) along with certain sections of the Petroleum Act. The officials have been held responsible for gross violations of norms laid down by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD).

The 12-day fire at the Jaipur depot, which happened last October, claimed 11 lives and caused severe damage to businesses in the industrial area. The fire is estimated to have caused financial losses worth Rs 280 crore to IOC and other units in the area.

The M B Lal-headed committee, set up by the government to probe the mishap, said the fire was caused by non-observance of normal safety procedures. The committee had submitted its report in January.

“The basic or root causes were an absence of site-specific written operating procedures, absence of leak-stopping devices from a remote location and insufficient understanding of hazards and risks and consequences,” said the report.

J B Verma, executive director of OISD and a member of the probe committee, said that OISD, in its audit (at IOC’s Jaipur depot) during 2003, had found the remote switch was non-functional and had asked the company to get it rectified. However, it was not replaced.