Scrap unit blaze on Jan 19 claimed 4 lives, police reveal

Surat: The Udhna police on Thursday revealed that four people died in the major fire that broke out in a plastic scrap unit on Jan 19, and arrested two brothers who owned the facility. The fire broke out when a plastic crusher overheated and exploded at the RMS Plast unit in Uma Industrial Estate, Plot No 18-20, engulfing five workers. Niraj Rambali Bharti (22) and Amir Safiq Mohammad (32) succumbed to burns on Jan 22 at Civil Hospital, while Chandbabu Salim Ahmed (31) and Mohammad Usman Samim Khan (18) died on Jan 25 at Kiran Hospital. The fifth injured worker, Lalit Vishwakarma (30), remains in serious condition at Kiran Hospital.
The police arrested Mohammad Husain Meman (37) and his brother Mohammad Abdul Kadir Meman (35), for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligent acts endangering human lives under Sections 105 and 125(b) of the BNS respectively. Saqib Fakir Shaikh, another partner in the unit, remains absconding.Investigation revealed that the scrap unit operated for one-and-a-half years without any no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department.According to police, the unit was congested and safety measures were lacking, preventing workers from escaping. Around eight workers were present at the time. Following the blast, nearby plastic waste caught fire, intensifying the blaze.Police found that, despite conducting hazardous operations, the unit had neither informed the Industrial Safety Department nor applied for a fire NOC. After the incident, a team of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) visited the premises and found that the unit had only obtained a certificate under the Shops and Establishments Act. As the unit had violated multiple mandatory norms for operating such a facility, authorities sealed it immediately. All the deceased were residents of the Sanjaynagar area. Police also called an executive magistrate to record the victims' dying declarations while they were undergoing treatment at the civil hospital.