District collector orders inquiry into Pirangut fire incident

The district collector of Pune has ordered an inquiry into the fire accident that has claimed at least 18 lives in Pirangut area of Mulshi taluka of Pune on Monday evening. Officials of the Pune metropolitan region development authority (PMRDA) will be part of the four-member committee.

Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh after visiting the industrial unit where fire broke out, said, “I have ordered an inquiry into the fire tragedy. Sub divisional magistrate of Maval will head the committee, which will have officials from industrial safety unit of MIDC and fire brigade under PMRDA.”

The inquiry committee will be headed by Sandesh Shirke, sub-divisional officer with magisterial powers, and will consist of an official of MIDC industrial safety department, and official of PMRDA, and fire chief of PMRDA, according to district collector.

“Our line of inquiry will be about fact-finding - what caused the fire, what was the chain of events, how many were affected,” said SDO Shirke.

When asked about a possible declaration of compensation and the inquiry findings, Shirke said, “Compensation, if any, will be a state government declaration. Our inquiry will not be involved with that. Plus, in such cases, company insurance, personal insurance should also be considered.”

All the victims are from nearby localities. Therefore, relatives of missing workers were readily available for identification. However, the people who found the bodies could not even identify the gender of those found.

“The bodies are so charred, it is difficult to look at them, let alone identify their gender. Only doctors can help here. The floor of the company in its entirety is destroyed,” said Shirke.