Many contradictions in IOC statements on Koyli unit blast

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has made a series of statements on the blast that ripped through Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) fluid catalytic cracking unit at its refinery at Koyli in Gujarat a fortnight ago that are contradictory to those made by investigating agencies like the Vadodara police and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

These relate to the number of deaths, the possible cause of the blast and even the damage to the unit in monetary terms.

A day after the blast, IOC executive director B N Bankapur said that according to IOC's records, no workers were present at the cracking unit or were missing.

He said that contract workers are trying to blackmail the company for money by claiming that two workers had died. The very next day, Vadora's commissioner of police Sudhir Sinha confirmed that two workers died in the blast.

Later, human body parts were found under the debris as it was being cleared. Bankapur said that IOC's earlier statements were based on the records available and that IOC would act according to norms if people have been killed in the blast.

On November 1, IOC officials said that sabotage could not be ruled out. But a Forensic Science Laboratory team ruled out sabotage and suggested that human negligence was the cause of the blast.

Even the police did not find any signs of sabotage. Sudhir Sinha said on Friday that the police would be able to file a police case against IOC officials only after the FSL submitted its report stating that the blast was the outcome of human negligence.

"In that case, the sections of the IPC that the complaint could attract will be sections 304 (death due to negligence), 337 (causing hurt due to negligence) and 338 (causing grievous hurt due to negligence)," Sinha said.

He added that a complaint under these sections would be based on the FSL report which is expected in a week. Sinha said that IOC had first said that there were no casualties and then done a flip-flop and said that there had been casualties.

"They have now admitted that the damage is far more than what they had estimated initially," the police commissioner said. As regards the cause, Sinha said that sabotage was ruled out and that the formation of an air bubble in the slurry settler had caused the blast.

"Whether this air bubble was because of human error or not will be known after the FSL report is made available," he said.

Some observers are baffled by the position adopted by IOC officials-a Fortune 500 company that has the largest petroleum retailing network in the country has been playing down the losses, refusing to accept that negligence could be the reason for the blast and had initially refused to acknowledge that anyone died in the blast.

IOC's Bankapur maintains that the loss arising from the damage might be around Rs 5 crore, but others think that this is an underestimate. Sudhir Sinha says that, according to the FSL, the loss could easily run to Rs 500 crore (he later raised the figure to Rs 1,000 crore).Then, IOC officials have still not admitted that human negligence could be the cause of the blast, although the FSL has suggested this.

Many contradictions:
October 29: Blast occurs at fluid catalytic cracking unit of refinery at Koyli. IOC executive director B N Bankapur says the loss is yet to be ascertained. October 30: Bankapur says IOC records state that no workers were missing and that people were trying to extract money.

October 31: Commissioner of police Sudhir Sinha confirms two deaths in the blast.

November 1: IOC officials say that sabotage cannot be ruled out. A Forensic Science Laboratory team says human negligence was the cause of the blast. Bankapur still insists that according to records, the workers were not at the cracking unit at the time of the blast.

November 2: Sudhir Sinha says that according to a report by the FSL, the loss because of the blast could easily be Rs 500 crore. Bankapur says loss could not be more than Rs 5 crore.

November 4: Human body parts are found from under the debris as it's being cleared. Bankapur says IOC's earlier statements were based on the records available and that IOC will act according to norms if people have been killed in the blast. Meanwhile, police commissioner says that a complaint will be filed against IOC for a negligent act resulting in death.

November 11: Contrary to what IOCl officials claim, FSL report submitted to the commissioner of police, Vadodara, says the cracking unit has been `nearly destroyed'. Commissioner Sinha says the damage could be placed at Rs 1,000 crore.