Muzaffarpur boiler blast: All 5 accused on the run

PATNA: A day after the boiler blast at a noodles factory at Bela industrial area in Muzaffarpur that claimed seven lives, the police on Monday raided the accommodations of factory owners, manger and supervisors, against whom an FIR was lodged on Sunday for negligence in maintenance of the machine.
SHO of Bela police station Kundan Kumar Singh said all the accused have been absconding.“The team raided the private accommodations of owners of the factory and other named accused, but they were not found. The factory manager, Uday Shanker, a native of Musahari area, has left with his family members and his home was locked. We are conducting raids to nab the accused,” he said.
The FIR was registered late on Sunday night on the statements of the employees of the factory who claimed that the maintenance of the boiler was due for last one year. The FIR was lodged against factory owners Vikash Modi and his wife Shweta Modi, manager Uday Shanker and supervisors Rahul and Digvijay.
They were booked under Sections 336, 337, 338 and 285 (act so negligently as to endanger human life), 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery), 427 (commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage), 308 and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The SHO said the statement of all the injured people undergoing treatment at the Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) was recorded on Monday. One Vishal, who suffered minor injuries, was discharged from the hospital on Monday.
The remaining two deceased were identified as Ajit Kumar and Lalan Yadav. Five deceased were already identified on Sunday. They were Prakash Rai, Vinod Rai, Sandeep Kumar, Amarnath Sah and M Sahni.
SHO said investigations revealed that the explosion took place during the maintenance work and all the victims were from the maintenance team. “The factory mostly had women workers. In one shift, around 170 women used to work in the factory. The employees said the boiler was in a bad condition. The incident took place because of negligence on the part of factory owners and employees,” he said.