Pune: Pimpri-Chinchwad police have arrested Harsha Kadam, managing director and chief executive officer of Schaeffler India, in connection with a carbon dioxide leak at the company's plant in the Talegaon MIDC industrial cluster in June.
The leak occurred on June 9, 2026, while maintenance work was being carried out on fire-safety cylinders on the premises. Two labourers died of asphyxia and three others fell ill. Senior Inspector Vijayanand Patil of Talegaon MIDC police station confirmed Kadam's arrest on Tuesday. Kadam (60) is the eighth person arrested in the case.
According to police, there was a pit at ground level near the heat treatment plant holding 14 fire-extinguishing cylinders and other equipment. The company never sought permission from the authorities to build the pit. Standard procedures for its construction and maintenance were never followed, police said.
The Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) held Kadam responsible for failing to adhere to safety measures, following which he was arrested, police said. His blood pressure fluctuated during a medical examination and he was hospitalised, and is currently under judicial custody at the hospital.
Police said they are also examining how the pit was allowed to operate without permission and how the inspection machinery failed to flag it.
At the time of the incident, staff from contractors Usha Fire Safety Equipment and Fernotech Engineers, along with company personnel, were carrying out maintenance on fire-safety cylinders. Eight people, including Kadam, have now been arrested, and he is under judicial custody at a hospital. The probe is also examining which authority was meant to inspect the plant and how it missed the violations.