New Delhi: The West Bengal CID, on Saturday arrested Pawan Ruia, Chairman of Ruia group from his Sundar Nagar residence in Delhi, on a complaint filed by the Indian Railways in the month of November.
The complaint said goods and equipment worth Rs 50 crore belonging to the railways and kept at Jessop and Company Ltd in Dum Dum have gone missing.
The West Bengal CID has also filed a case against Ruia on the charges of fire incidents at Jessop, which allegedly damaged many important documents and equipment.
From October 10-18, three cases of fire were reported at Jessop. While the first two were not reported, the last fire created smoke of suspicion on the role of management in the fire accidents.
The arrest came after Pawan Rui failed to appear before the CID after repeated summons for questioning regarding the matter.
The West Bengal CID had issued summons to Ruia to appear on November 2, October 26 and October 28
The Rui group's Jessop factory caught fire for the fourth time in November. The West Bengal government suspected foul play and recommended investigation into the matter.
The investigation led to framing of charges by the state government and the fire department against Ravan Rui, under sections 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Exterior of Jessop Factory in Dum Dum
The Ruia Group has completely denied the role of the group in the fire. It questioned the legality of the charges and filed a plea in the Calcutta High Court to quash the order. The Court, however, asked Ruia to cooperate in the matter and direct the CID to avoid coercion.
The Calcutta High Court in 2013 had instructed Ruias to repair the Jessop factory walls, clear bushes and tighten security at the factory, which remained ignored by the management.
