The Centre has ordered an inquiry into the gruesome fire tragedy at a fireworks manufacturing unit near Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu that has claimed 38 lives.
According to an official statement, Union Minister of Commerce Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma has ordered an inquiry by senior IAS officer Chaitanya Prasad under section 9 (a) of the Explosives Act 1884.
Earlier Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had also ordered a magisterial probe into the fire incident. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chief Minister said that the licence for the private factory was cancelled a day before the accident. She said, the magisterial inquiry will be conducted by the District Revenue Officer and a report will be submitted to the government. Meanwhile police have arrested 12 persons including the foreman and contractor of the private cracker factory for violating safety norms.