Bhilai Steel Plant CEO Removed With Immediate Effect, Two Senior Officials Suspended Day After Blast That Killed 11

A day after a blast at the Bhilai Steel Plant claimed the lives of 11 employees, the Chief Executive Officer of the plant and two other senior officials have been suspended.

Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh conveyed this information after visiting the injured employees at the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai town, located around 30 km from Raipur. On Tuesday (October 9), nine people had died, and 14 others were injured in the gas pipeline blast at the plant of the state-owned Steel Authority Of India Limited (SAIL) in Durg district.

Of the 14 injured, admitted to the burns unit of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai, two succumbed late last night, said a public relations officer of the Bhilai Steel Plant. CEO M Ravi has been removed with immediate effect while general manager (safety department) T Pandya Raja and deputy general manager (energy department) Naveen Kumar have been suspended, Birender Singh said, as reported by TOI.

Earlier, inspector general of police (Durg Range) GP Singh had said that after receiving the postmortem report of the deceased, a case under the Indian Penal Code Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) would be registered followed by an inquiry into the incident.

Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnudeo Sai had said on Tuesday (9 October) that a four-member high-level committee was constituted by SAIL to probe the incident.