Mystery about unclaimed body continues

By P.V.V. Murthi

VELLORE, AUG. 18. The mystery about the identity of the 28th person present in or near the detonator unit building of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Explosives Ltd. (TEL) at Christianpet near Katpadi and the parts of whose body has been extricated from the debris still remains unsolved. A total of 24 persons were killed in the powerful explosion that brought the building crashing down on Thursday morning when the workers were engaged in their first shift duty.

While the TEL officials accounted for only 27 persons as present at the time of the explosion, police investigations showed the presence of a 28th person following the discovery of the trunk portion of a body amid the debris of the detonator building. This body is the only one still remaining unclaimed by relatives. Though police ruled out any sabotage in the explosion, the establishing of the identity of this person would help the police conclusively eliminate foul play.

The presence of the body of an unaccounted person in the debris points to the breach in security in TEL. While the names of all the visitors who entered the factory premises and the numbers of all vehicles which entered the premises were noted down by the security personnel manning the main gates, the records of the security department did not contain the name of any visitor to the detonator unit on Thursday.

Police sources said that only the trunk portion of the body could be found. Sniffer dogs were employed today to trace the head of the body.

Two more workers, Azhagammal (40) of Thirumani village and R. Shanthi (36) of Katpadi, working in an adjacent building and who sustained minor injuries in the explosion were admitted to the Government Pentland Hospital here on Friday.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Panel wants to resettle families before raising
           dam height
Next     : Imams back campaign for 'Harit Pradesh'