Fix responsibility after evidence: Naveen Jindal backs Vedanta’s Agarwal in Chhattisgarh blast case
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Industrialist Naveen Jindal on Saturday came out in support of Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal in the Chhattisgarh boiler blast case, saying that the matter should first be investigated and responsibility should be established based on evidence.
Agarwal has been named in an FIR registered by the Chhattisgarh police in connection with a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Sakti district on April 14 that claimed 23 lives.
According to an official, the Vedanta Chairman has been booked under stringent IPC sections, such as causing death due to negligence, among others.
In a post on social network X, Jindal, the Chairman of Jindal Steel, lamented the death of workers in the incident.
The tragedy in Chhattisgarh is deeply painful. 20 families have lost everything. Proper compensation, livelihood support for the families, and a thorough investigation are non-negotiable, he said.
"But naming Shri @AnilAgarwal_Ved Ji in the FIR before any investigation raises serious concerns. Investigate first. Establish responsibility based on evidence. Then act." Jindal said. Agarwal is a self-made man from a humble and backward community background who built a global enterprise from scratch and had no role in that plant's operations.
The death toll in the blast at the Vedanta power plant reached 23 on Saturday as two more workers succumbed to their injuries, while 12 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals..
The explosion occurred on April 14 in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.
According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident. Seven more injured workers succumbed to injuries in hospitals on April 15, while another worker died on the night of April 16 at a hospital in Raipur.
Jindal further questioned about setting the responsibilities of a Chairman when such incidents take place in PSU plants.
"When accidents happen in PSU plants or Railways, do we name the Chairman? We do not. The same standard must apply to the private sector too." India's Viksit Bharat vision needs people like Anil Agarwal to keep investing and building. That happens only when investors trust the system, Jindal said.
Questioning the filing of FIR against Vedanta group chairman, ace investor Vijay Kedia in a social post said that if a factory accident means FIR on the promoter, then should a train accident or air crash result in FIR against the Railway and Aviation authorities.
"If a factory accident - FIR on the promoter, then Train accident - FIR on the Railway Minister? Air crash - FIR on aviation authorities? Pothole death - FIR on the Municipal Commissioner?" he said in the post.
Kedia said accountability must be consistent, not selective.
(Except for the headline, Fortune India has not edited the content of this PTI report.)