The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has directed the State government to submit details of the SVR Ruia incident in which 11 persons died due to oxygen shortage, following the filing of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions.
A petition filed on behalf of the BJP State spokesperson G. Bhanuprakash Reddy put the number of persons dead in the incident at 56, as against the official figure of 11. Even as the State government announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the kin of the victims, the party demanded it be hiked to ₹25 lakh.
Similarly TDP leader P.R. Mohan filed a petition seeking judicial inquiry into the incident. Though he personally filed a complaint with the Alipiri police on the incident, the police had not registered an FIR, he alleged. Mr. Mohan demanded that the State establish five oxygen plants, in tune with the Union government’s directions.
It was in this backdrop that the Bench comprising Justice C. Praveen Kumar and Justice K. Lalitha issued a notice to the Union and State governments, directing them to come up with all details pertaining to the incident, while posting the case for hearing after the vacation. A notice was also sent to Superintendent of Police (Tirupati Urban) demanding explanation on Mr. Mohan’s complaint.
