The entrance of the ammunition depot where a major fire broke out in Pulgaon, near Nagpur, on Tuesday.

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, June 1

Three more bodies were today recovered from the site of the fire mishap at the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) at Pulgaon in Maharashtra, taking the death toll to 19.Charred beyond recognition, all three belonged to the Defence Security Corps, the state police said, adding that DNA tests would be conducted to identify them.Three of the 17 persons injured in the yesterday’s fire were today airlifted to the Army Hospital in Pune. They have been identified as CAD Deputy Commandant Col Ganendra Singh, Major Sharad Yadav and Major Jagdish Chandra. Chandra received burn injuries, while the other two were injured by flying shrapnel.The Shiv Sena has demanded that the Central Government should take responsibility for the deaths of so many people and loss of ammunition.“The loss of so much ammunition would have made our enemies such as Pakistan and China very happy. So much of loss would not happen in the case of a war…Now there will be inquiries and tears will be shed for those who lost their lives. But responsibilities need to be fixed for the loss of lives and compromises in matters of national security,” an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna said.The newspaper wondered what answer the Centre would give to soldiers stationed at the country’s borders suffering from lack of adequate weapons. “The government has to take responsibility for the lapse. This fire cannot be called normal,” Saamna added.The newspaper noted that accidents involving the armed forces keep happening regularly. “First there were accidents in submarines. Now there is a fire at an ammunition depot. Is this due to negligence or is it a conspiracy of our enemies. If the latter is true, it is difficult to imagine the power of our enemies,” Saamna added.

Sena blames Centre for ‘carelessness’

• The loss of so much ammunition would have made our enemies such as Pakistan and China very happy. So much of loss would not happen in the case of a war…The government has to take responsibility for the lapse. This fire cannot be called normal. —An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna