The Telangana High Court on Thursday (November 27, 2025) directed the Patancheru Deputy Superintendent of Police Prabhakar, the officer investigating the case of Sigachi blast case, to appear before it on December 9 with all relevant documents relating to the case.
SPOTLIGHT | Sigachi Industries explosion: A deafening blast, a lingering silence
A Bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin, hearing a PIL plea on Sigachi factory explosion that killed 46 persons, expressed concern over the delay in the probe to fix up responsibility for the explosion inside the factory. The Bench wanted the IO to furnish all documents connected to the case, including the First Information Report, case diary and the report over the progress of the investigation.
The bench noted that it was close to five months since the explosion snuffed out 46 lives and injured 28 persons but the investigation could not be completed. It sought to know from the Additional Advocate General T. Rajinikanth Reddy why there was no progress in probing the case. The bench asked him why the government did not constitute a Special Investigation Team to finalise the case. The CJ said observed “this is not a murder or rape case, rather it is a more serious case and the investigation could have been concluded by now” if a SIT was formed.
Counsel Vasudha Nagaraj, appearing for the petitioner K. Babu Rao, informed the bench that eight persons went missing (believed to have been killed in the explosion) while 46 lives were lost in the blast. The investigators did not focus on the angle of missing persons. The advocate contended that the families of the victims who lost lives did not receive the total compensation of one crore rupees each promised by the State government.
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Advocate Vasudha Nagaraj told the bench that the report of the Experts Committee constituted by the government to probe into the blast pointed out many lapses on the part of the factory management. The AAG informed the bench that the IO had examined 231 witnesses and recorded their statements, while the government was taking all steps to ensure the total compensation was paid to the families. The bench observed if examining more than 200 witnesses was not adequate enough to fix up who was responsible for the tragedy. Wondering if the investigation was progressing in the right direction, the bench said if the case required court-monitored investigation.
Published – November 28, 2025 03:41 am IST
