6 arrested for godown fire that gutted Rs 28-crore groundnuts

The owner and manager of a private warehouse, where groundnuts worth Rs 28 crore were gutted in a fire last week, are among six people arrested for the blaze that was caused by "negligence", a police official said today.
Sparks from a welding machine used to fix metal gates caused the massive blaze at the warehouse, Ramrajya Godown, at Gondal near here on January 30.
The inferno had destroyed 50 lakh kg of groundnuts (worth around Rs 28 crore) stored at the godown, hired by the Gujarat State Co-Operative Cotton Federation (GUJCOT), he said.
The state CID (Crime) was asked to probe the incident and find out the cause of the blaze.

Six people, including the owner and manager of the warehouse, were arrested last evening after an FIR was lodged against them, DIG of CID (Crime) Dipankar Trivedi said at a press conference here.
They were booked for mischief by fire with intent to destroy house, causing disappearance of evidence and abettor present when crime is committed, he said.

The GUJCOT had procured groundnuts from farmers and stored them at the warehouse.
Thereafter, the owner began constructing walls around the warehouse and installing iron gates, Trivedi said.
"Our investigation revealed the fire was not caused due to any conspiracy but because of negligence on the part of some people working there to fix iron gates. Sparks flying from a welding machine caused the fire," Trivedi said.

The CID carried out its investigation with the help of teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), the local police and the fire department, he said.
"Four labourers were inside the warehouse when the incident took place. They tried to control the fire but it spread very fast and engulfed the godown," Trivedi said.
Apart from the godown owner Dinesh Selani and its manager Mayursinh Dabhi, four labourers working at the site were also arrested, he said.
"The accused tried to hide the fact that the fire was caused due to a welding machine. An FIR was lodged against them and they were arrested. Our investigation is on and we may arrest more persons," he said.

The fire at the godown is still on and it will take another 10 days to completely douse the flames, Trivedi said.
Other details such as the quality of groundnuts stored at the warehouse and presence of any other material will be known only after the flames are put out completely and FSL officials go inside it, the officer said.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had ordered a CID probe after the opposition Congress alleged a conspiracy behind the blaze.