Fresh Probe Ordered Into Indore Water Contamination Deaths

This is the second high-level official probe instituted into the incident by the state government.

Incidentally, the move to go for a fresh ‘thorough’ investigation into the incident comes days after the Central BJP leadership took stock of the situation.

Sources said that the Central leadership has taken the incident 'very seriously'.

The BJP leadership has recently held discussions with state urban administration minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on the matter.

Indore’s Bhagirathpura, the worst affected area, falls under the Assembly constituency being represented by Mr. Vijayvargiya.

A four-member high-level official committee headed by additional chief secretary of the General Administration (GA) department, Sanjay Kumar Shukla, has been constituted to probe the actual causes of the water contamination, a senior officer of the Madhya Pradesh government told this newspaper, unwilling to be quoted.

“The committee will dig out the actual reasons of water contamination in Bhagirathpura area and analyze administrative, technical, and management deficiencies”, the officer said.

The panel will access the official records, reports and information from the departments concerned and fix accountability on the erring officials for the incident, sources said.

The committee has been asked to submit its report to the state government within a month.

Other members of the committee comprised principal secretary, public health engineering, P Narahari, and commissioner, Directorate of Urban Administration and Development, Sanket Bhodave.

Indore Divisional Commissioner Sudam Khade has been designated as member-secretary of the panel.

An audit report prepared by a committee of the government-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College suggested that the deaths of at least 15 people in Bhagirathpura area may be linked to water contamination.

However, the locals said that 24 people died due to water contamination in Bhagirathpura.

Earlier, multiple official probes were conducted into the matter.

They include the high-level official probe panel headed by additional chief secretary (urban administration) Sanjay Dubey.

The Madhya Pradesh high court, while hearing petitions filed in connection with the incident, has recently observed that, “This is big news.

If people are dying because of contaminated water, then something is wrong. Keep upholding the beauty of Indore. Indore is such a respected city, and the country says good things about the city’.