Hopes of missing victims' relatives lie with forensics

Thane Police's Ulhasnagar Crime Branch has sought help from chemical experts, a forensics science team, and the Directorate of Industrial Safety & Health (DISH) in connection with last week's Dombivli chemical company explosion in which 10 people were killed and more than 60 were injured.Thane Police's Ulhasnagar Crime Branch has sought help from chemical experts, a forensics science team, and the Directorate of Industrial Safety & Health (DISH) in connection with last week's Dombivli chemical company explosion in which 10 people were killed and more than 60 were injured.

The owner of the Amudan Chemical Company, Malay Mehta, was arrested on Friday from Nashik by the Crime Branch team. Mehta was produced in Kalyan Court and was remanded in police custody for five days (May 29).

Ashok Koli, Senior Inspector, Ulhasngaar Crime Branch, said: "We had police custody from the court for further investigation. We sought the help of chemical experts, the forensics team, and the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health to collect evidence and build a strong case against the accused. A team of four experts from different agencies visited Amudan Chemical Company and four to five other adjacent chemical firms. They collected samples of chemical liquids and charred pieces of materials to determine the specific type of chemical being manufactured or processed.

The report will be submitted within four days." Koli further added that one team of police personnel visited Mehta's house. "We have confiscated documents of Amudan Chemical Company. We will go through these documents to determine whether Malay Mehta had the requisite permission for industry, manufacturing, or processing chemicals," he said.