Four held for 6 factory workers' death after inhaling toxic fumes in Surat

Gandhinagar, Jan 8 (IANS) The Surat police have arrested four persons for the alleged illegal discharge of chemical waste due to which six workers died from inhaling toxic fumes. They have been arrested under various charges, including culpable homicide.

Twenty two others were hospitalised on January 6 after they inhaled toxic fumes leaked from the chemical tanker parked near a factory in Gujarat's Surat district.

The Surat police crime branch arrested four persons, including two transporters, a bank employee and a garage owner, the police said.

The arrests were carried out with the help of Vadodara and Bharuch police.

According to the police, the chemical waste being illegally dumped was supplied by one Ashish Gupta, a transporter and a partner in a firm. He provided the hazardous chemical for disposal to one Jaipratap Tomar and another person identified as Yadav.

Tomar works in the loan department of a bank while Yadav runs a garage, the police official said.

The police have also identified one Premsagar Gupta, who had accompanied Tomar and Yadav in the tanker to the Sachin GIDC area.

The Sachin GIDC police station had filed an FIR on Thursday against unidentified persons under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), rash and negligent act endangering human lives (336, 337, and 338), rash and negligent act involving poisonous substance (284), voluntarily corrupting water of public spring or reservoir (277), making atmosphere noxious to health (278), criminal conspiracy (120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.