Army asks Def Min to fix responsibility for Pulgaon ammo depot

The Army has conveyed its serious concerns to the defence ministry over the Ordnance Factory Board's "failure" to punish officials responsible for last year's massive blast at an ammunition depot in Maharashtra in which 19 army personnel perished, an official document says.

Over 19,325 defective anti-tank mines had exploded primarily due to leakage of explosives from some of the mines stored at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon.

In a letter to Defence Production Secretary Ashok Kumar Gupta, the Army headquarters has sought fixing of responsibility for the blaze at the depot on May 31, 2016.

Separately, the Army has taken up the issue with Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, official sources said.

Two army officials, four defence security corps personnel and 13 defence fire safety staff were killed in the fire at the depot, the largest ammunition and weapons store in the country and said to be the second largest in Asia.

In the letter, seen by

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