Tengakhat fire: Oil India suspends three officers and an employee

Oil India Limited (OIL) has suspended four of its personnel, three officers and one employee, for alleged "dereliction in discharging official duties" in connection with Friday's explosion and fire at its Intermediate Tank Farm (ITF) at Tengakhat in Dibrugarh district.

OIL spokesperson Prankush Malla Buzarbaruah confirmed the suspensions, Hub News and Northeast Live reported on Sunday. The company has not publicly named the four or detailed the lapses it holds them responsible for.

Toll at three

The fire broke out on the morning of November 6 while maintenance work was going on at the tank farm. Three people have died so far. Rupam Gohain of Tengakhat, who was first treated at the OIL Hospital in Duliajan and then shifted to Nemcare Hospital in Guwahati, died of burn injuries on Saturday. Engineer Tapas Jyoti Gogoi of Spectron Engineering Pvt Ltd died earlier at a private hospital in Dibrugarh, and another worker died after the blast. Four others remain critically injured.

OIL has announced ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of those who died and Rs 5 lakh each for the injured. It had earlier set up a five-member internal inquiry committee to look into the causes of the accident.

Calls for a high-level probe

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the Dibrugarh MP, visited the injured at Aastha Hospital in Dibrugarh on Saturday and spoke to OIL's Chairman and Managing Director at the company's Duliajan headquarters. He asked the company to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured and fair compensation for the bereaved families, and called for a high-level inquiry by the authorities concerned into the exact cause of the explosion.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Sonowal are monitoring the situation, according to the reports. Local groups, including the Oilfield Protection and Public Welfare Committee (North-East), have demanded an impartial investigation and accountability for any safety lapses.

The suspensions are the first disciplinary action announced since the accident. NEInsider's earlier report on the fire and the inquiry is here: https://neinsider.com/assam/tengakhat-oil-india-fire-death-toll-rises-to-3-four-still-critical-ae0a73