Army probe begins, Govt rules out sabotage

Army probe begins, Govt rules out sabotage
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, APRIL 30: The Court of Inquiry under Major General C B Suku on Sunday began probing the cause of the fire that led to the destruction of 10,000 metric tonnes of ammunition at Bharatpur ordnance depot.

While the inquiry has still not ruled out sabotage, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Brajesh Mishra, on Sunday said that there was no evidence of sabotage in the fire. Defence Minister George Fernandes also briefed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for about 30 minutes about steps taken to contain the fire.

Director General Ordnance Lt Gen K S Bhatnagar said that the sporadic explosions too had stopped on Saturday and the fire was completely under control. The Army said that efforts were on to locate unexploded shells and splinters and assess the extent of damage.

Maj Gen Suku of the School of Artillery, Deolali, heading a team of experts have begun their inquiry, though sources said there was no time frame for the inquiry. Bomb disposal squads are also scouting for semi-exploded shells to check and diffuse to prevent any further damage, sources said. Soldiers from Agra and Mathura are still camping at Bharatupur ordnance depot clearing the area and securing ammunition.

Villagers from areas surrounding the southern army command depot, who had left their homes in panic have started coming back with the situation improving, Army spokesman Colonel Shruti Kant said.

Army sources also said that the ammunition was kept in the area where it was supposed to be kept and it was "nature's fury" which led to the fire. The ammunition was kept on open plinth area as it usually kept in summers but the fire was sudden.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Rajesh Pilot said that the fire at Bharatpur ammunition depot appeared to be a serious lapse. "On the face of it, the incident seems to be a serious lapse on somebody's part," Pilot said after visiting Bharatpur. He said he will raise the issue in Parliament on Tuesday and request Defence Minister Fernandes to adopt the two worst affected villages; Mandawani and Kasuda and rehabilitate the people there.