Industrialist and Lok Sabha MP Naveen Jindal has come out in support of Anil Agarwal, questioning the decision to name the Vedanta Group chairman in an FIR connected to a fatal boiler blast at a power plant in Chhattisgarh.
He has urged for a thorough investigation and accountability, according to a statement by Vedanta unit Hindustan Zinc.
In his official X account, Jindal wrote that 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. But naming Shri @AnilAgarwal_Ved Ji in the FIR before any investigation raises serious concerns.
“He is a self-made man from a humble and backward community background who built a global enterprise from scratch. He had no role in that plant’s operations. When accidents happen in PSU plants or Railways, do we name the Chairman?” he wrote.
“We do not. The same standard must apply to the private sector, too. Investigate first. Establish responsibility based on evidence. Then act. India’s #ViksitBharat vision needs people like Shri Anil Agarwal to keep investing and building. That happens only when investors trust the system,” he added.
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.
