The police have finally arrested top officials of Vedanta Resources charged with the collapse of an under-construction power unit chimney at Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in September, killing 41 persons.
The arrests were made last evening close to the tragedy site at Korba, 225 km from here. Taken into custody were Vice-President and Power Project Manager Viral Mehta, Assistant General Manager (Projects) Deepak Narang and graduate trainee engineer Anoop Mahapatra.
The charges are culpable homicide and conspiracy.
With this, four people have been arrested so far in connection with the deaths. The police had earlier arrested Manoj Sharma, project manager of Gannon Dunkerley and Company Ltd (GDCL), that had bagged the contract for the chimney construction.
GDCL had bagged the Rs 60-crore contract to build the chimney at Balco’s power plant. Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation, a Chinese company, was awarded work for setting up the 1,200-Mw plant.
Ratanlal Dangi, Korba’s superintendent of police (SP), told Business Standard two senior Chinese officials of Sepco had been asked not to leave Korba. The investigating officials were interrogating them and the two officials could be arrested if evidence was found in the probe, the district police chief said.
