A senior police officer said seven accused had been arrested before Kadam in the case
Pune: Schaeffler India chief executive officer and managing director Harsha Kadam was on Thursday formally arrested in connection with the June 9 CO₂ leak at the company’s Talegaon MIDC plant which killed two workers and injured four others. The leak occurred on June 9 while expired CO₂ cylinders were being replaced in the fire suppression system at the Talegaon plant. Police initially registered an accidental death case before filing an FIR on July 4, naming six people, including the company’s safety officer and personnel from two contractors engaged for the work.
“Kadam was formally arrested after his discharge from hospital and subsequently produced before the court, which granted him bail,” Vijayanand Patil, senior police inspector at Talegaon MIDC police station, told TOI . A senior police officer said seven accused had been arrested before Kadam, making him the eighth arrest in the case. “We have already filed a chargesheet in the matter,” the officer said.
He was later granted bail by a court in Vadgaon Maval. However, during a medical examination before his production in court for a remand hearing, his blood pressure spiked, following which he was admitted to Sassoon General Hospital. The court directed police to keep Kadam under detention and police guard at the hospital until his discharge and ordered that he be produced before it immediately thereafter. Police alleged that negligence in the matter led to the deaths of two workers and injuries to four others.
Talegaon MIDC police had detained Kadam in Mumbai on Monday.