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. He was later granted bail by a court in Vadgaon Maval.Talegaon MIDC police had detained Kadam in Mumbai on Monday. 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.“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.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.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.Explaining the allegations against Kadam, the officer said the CO₂ cylinders had been kept in a basement pit without the necessary permission. Such an installation was not permitted, and the area lacked an exhaust fan or any mechanical ventilation system, he said.During an inspection, officials from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health found that the pit did not conform to the company’s approved layout, the officer said. Since Kadam was the “occupier” of the premises, he was responsible for the installation, as no modifications could be made without his permission, the officer added.Police alleged that negligence in the matter led to the deaths of two workers and injuries to four others.
