BBMP chief engineer inspects quality control lab where fire broke out last week

BENGALURU: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Engineer B S Prahalad on Monday visited the quality control laboratory where a fire had broken out last Friday after stocked benzene burst into flames due to a leak in an oven box.

Following the incident, the chief engineer had filed a complaint against three officials, including AEEs Anand and Swamy, and clerk Suresh.

Speaking to the media after the inspection of the lab, Prahalad said, “The patients are being treated at the hospital. The police have already inspected the quality control lab and started their investigation. On the other hand, our department will start the investigation later in the evening. The police have sealed the room, and they will open it later this evening, after which we will start our probe.

On a query about shifting the injured staff from Victoria Hospital to a private hospital for better treatment, Prahalad said the decision will be taken after receiving the doctor’s report and a meeting with senior officers. “An internal inquiry is under way”, he noted.

The chief engineer is upset with the police action in issuing a notice to him. He said, “I am the complainant in the incident and yet, they issued a notice to me, this is inappropriate. I will talk to the higher-ups regarding this. But, so far, I have not receive any notice, not even from my office. I got to know about it through the news on television”.

The Halasuru Gate police have written to the Corporation Chief Commissioner asking for information about the explosive materials and the possibility of a fire breaking out in the quality lab. They asked several questions, including  what materials are used for quality check, and how they work, whether they are dangerous enough to cause disasters, among others.

The Halasur Gate police have obtained all important information from the accused clerk Suresh and AEEs Anand and Swamy about the tests that were conducted, the materials used, precautions to be taken, etc. The police also inquired whether the BBMP had given permission to them use those chemical materials during sample testing.