IndianOil fire: Victims’ kin get compensation
Ahmedabad   28-Jan-2013

It is 20 days since the devastating fire at IndianOil, Hazira depot near here claimed three lives and two persons went missing. However, the company officials have yet to release the compensation of Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of all the victims. So far, family of only two victims have been given the ex gratia.

District collector Jaiprakash Shivhare recently held a meeting with IndianOil officials in this regard and asked them to pay up as promised. He also handed over to them the copy of the letter given by the police which said there was no trace of the two missing persons in the January 5 fire and that they should be presumed dead. The district collector said that in such a situation, the family members of the two missing persons too should be given the compensation as announced by the IndianOil.

Shreekumar, human resources, manager, IndianOil, said, "We have already paid Rs 5 lakh each to the family members of the two deceased namely Jalandhar Raisingh Chaudhary, 38, from Bihar and Rahul Sharda, 20, of Uttar Pradesh. So far, no one has come from the family of the third victim Devendra Giri of Vadodara to collect it. We are ready to pay compensation to the members of the family of Jitendersingh and Ravi Swai, who we presume to be dead."

Meanwhile, the report of the internal inquiry conducted by the IndianOil into the fire accident has been handed over to the petroleum ministry. The fire had caused Rs 50 crore worth of damage to the IOC. The contents of the report have not been made public.