All eight people booked let off after interrogation; autopsy, forensic reports awaited

Panvel range forest officials on December 16, said the suspected gas leak that killed 31 monkeys and 14 rock pigeons would be from the plant of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The land at Rasayani in Raigad district, where the incident was reported on Saturday, originally belonged to the Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL). Around 20 acres were later handed over to the ISRO and the remaining to the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Dyaneshwar Sonawane, Panvel range forest officer, said currently, only the ISRO has an active plant on the land. “If there was a gas leak, it was from the ISRO. The BPCL or the HOCL do not have any active plant there. We had booked eight people including those from the ISRO, BPCL, and the HOCL, along with a JCB driver, all of whom were interrogated and let off. Once we get the post-mortem and forensic reports, we will arrest those behind the deaths,” Mr. Sonawane said.

According to the officer, they received information on Saturday about dead monkeys and pigeons buried in the industrial area. Even as the gas leak is suspected from the ISRO, the carcasses were found 50 metres away from the ISRO plant in the land that belongs to the BPCL. According to sources, BPCL officials were not aware of the incident.

Among the 31 monkeys, 11 were babies. “The carcasses were exhumed on Saturday in the presence of sub-divisional forest officer Nandkishore Kupte, Mr. Sonawane, and the regional officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. The veterinary doctor from zilla parishad dissected the carcasses and sent internal organs to Haffkine in Mumbai for forensic tests,” Pramod Railkar, member of Raigad District Environment Committee, who was present during the inspection, said.

Mr. Railkar said, “Villagers have claimed that they experienced a pungent smell on Thursday night. So whatever happened with the animals was between Thursday night and Friday morning. The ISRO plant at Rasayani is Asia’s only plant that produces dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4), which is used as fuel by satellites. It is produced from nitric acid, and as per my knowledge, the acid does not have a strong smell but dinitrogen tetroxide does have.” The last rites of animals and pigeons were performed on Saturday evening after the punchanama was done.

Wildlife activist Abhijit Gharat said the authorities shouldn’t have let off the people booked. “This is a serious issue and a huge threat to the wildlife. We hope necessary action is taken after the reports are out.”

The forest department has booked the eight persons under Sections 9 (prohibition of hunting), 39 (wild animals to be government property), 52 (attempts to contravene, or abets the contravention of, any of the provisions of this Act), and 58 (offences by companies) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.