The government has issued a showcause notice to Hinduja Group firm Gulf Oil Corp, apparently in relation to the supply of explosives to 61 trucks that went missing in Madhya Pradesh recently.
"The Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation of the Government of India has issued a showcause notice to the company (Gulf Oil) regarding supply of explosives from its toll manufacuturing unit located in Lalitpur, Jhansi," Gulf Oil said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Gulf Oil did not give further details on its role in the supply of explosives or if any of the 61 trucks that went missing were loaded at any of its factories.
"The operations in the other eight of the company's factories continue normally, whilst Hyderabad Works has, as an interim measure, suspended operations pending receipt of clearances based on the submissions," the company said.
The company's Industrial Explosives Division has the country's largest explosives and detonators manufacturing facilities, comprising nine manufacturing plants and six bulk explosives support facilities around India, according to Gulf Oil Corp's website.
Its Hyderabad Plant is one of the largest detonator manufacturing facilities in the world, with a capacity of 192 million units per annum. The other plants manufacture cartridge explosives as well as intermediaries for site mix explosives.
According to reports, the Madhya Pradesh-bound trucks loaded with explosives and gelatin sticks worth Rs 1.30 crore had gone missing on their way to Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh.
The trucks, carrying around of 600 tonnes of explosives, were sent from Rajasthan Explosives and Chemicals (RECL) in Dholpur to a trading company in Sagar, 'Ganesh Magazine'. The vanishing act took place over a period of four months between April and July.