Indore, Jul 21 Police informed the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday that a case has been registered against a local BJP councillor and four others in connection with an explosion in a piped natural gas (PNG) line in Indore last month and the matter was under investigation.
According to police, the explosion occurred on June 23 in the Vijay Nagar area when a drilling machine struck an underground PNG line. The explosion and subsequent fire injured four people, including a woman, who were walking past the site.
Local residents allege that illegal tubewell drilling was taking place at the site, while the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) claims a pit was being dug for groundwater recharge.
The HC's Indore bench is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the PNG line explosion.
In compliance with the court's July 13 order, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Parag Saini appeared before a bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Alok Awasthi.
The ACP informed the High Court that the investigation into the incident is ongoing and that a local councillor of the ruling BJP, Balmukund Soni, has been named as an accused in the FIR along with four others under relevant legal provisions.
Saini told the court that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents prepared by the IMC on undertaking civil work near gas pipelines to ensure safety have been sought from the officer concerned, but they have not been made available to the police yet.
An advocate representing the Indore civic body told the court that he would ensure that these documents are made available to the investigating officer of the police within two days.
During the hearing, the High Court, considering the health condition of the people injured in the blast, directed the state government to ensure they are provided free medical care.
The court listed the PIL for further hearing in the week beginning August 3.
