MP/ 2 Officers, One Cop Suspended In Firecracker Explosion Mishap

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Saturday placed three officers including a cop under suspension in connection with the May 14 tragedy in which five workers were killed and 23 others injured in an explosion in a firecracker factory in Dewas district in the state.

The three suspended officers were local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Sanjeev Saxena, naib tehsildar Ravi Sharma and sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Deepa Mandave.

The incident took place at Tonk Kalan late on Thursday.

An order issued by the Ujjain divisional commissioner said that SDM Saxena and naib tehsildar Sharma were suspended on charges of negligence and apathy in the discharge of duties, leading to the incident.

Both the officers were attached to the divisional commissioner’s office.

An order issued by the state home department said that SDOP Mandave was suspended for having failed to conduct periodic inspection of the operation of the factory, despite instructions issued from time to time by the government.

Furthermore, she failed to submit a report to her superior office, which amounted to gross negligence and apathy in the discharge of her duty and hence, she has been placed under suspension.

The police officer has been shifted to the police headquarters here.

The state government has earlier arrested the promoter of the firecracker unit and suspended his licence.

A judicial commission headed by a retired judge of Madhya Pradesh high court has been constituted to probe the incident.