Harsha Kadam: Schaeffler India CEO taken into custody over factory deaths

Harsha Kadam, the managing director and chief executive of Schaeffler India, was taken into custody by police at about 6:40 pm on Monday, October 19, 2026, in the investigation into the deaths of two workers at the company's factory at Talegaon near Pune. The company disclosed the action in a filing to the stock exchanges on Tuesday, October 20. The two workers, employed by a service provider of the company, died on June 9, 2026, after a sudden release of carbon dioxide gas while a gas cylinder was being replaced.

It is rare in India for the top executive of a large listed manufacturer to be taken into police custody over a workplace accident. Most factory death investigations stop at plant managers, supervisors or contractors. In this case the police have linked the probe to the head of the company through his legal role as the factory's "occupier", according to the company's own disclosure.

In Indian factory safety law, the occupier is the person who has ultimate control over the affairs of a factory. For a company, this is usually a named director, and that person carries legal responsibility for the safety of everyone working on the premises, including workers hired through contractors. The Schaeffler case shows that this responsibility is not only on paper: the police are using it to bring the senior-most officer into the investigation four months after the deaths.

The incident also draws attention to contract workers. Both of the men who died were employed by a service provider, not directly by Schaeffler India. Contract and outsourced workers are often the ones doing maintenance and utility jobs such as changing gas cylinders, and safety practice for them depends on both the factory and the contractor.

Carbon dioxide is widely used in factories, for example in fire-suppression systems, welding and cooling. It has no smell or colour, and in an enclosed space a sudden release can push out the oxygen people need to breathe. This is why gas handling usually needs ventilation, gas detectors and trained rescue cover.

For the company, the case is a governance test. Schaeffler India is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is part of the German Schaeffler Group, which makes bearings and components for the automotive and industrial sectors. The disclosure was made under the listing rules that require companies to inform the exchanges of events that may affect them, such as action against a key managerial person.

Short-term: The company has told the exchanges that its business continues as normal and that it is working with legal advisers. The next steps in the case, such as production before a court and any bail application, will decide how long the custody lasts. Investors will watch for any further filings.

Long-term: The case may push manufacturers across Maharashtra and other industrial states to review who is named as occupier, how contract workers are trained, and how gas and other hazardous materials are handled. If the investigation leads to charges against the top executive, it could become a reference point for how far responsibility for workplace deaths reaches inside a company.

Who is affected: The families of the two workers who died; Schaeffler India's employees, contract workers and management; the company's shareholders; and factory owners and safety officers in industrial areas such as Talegaon MIDC, Chakan and Pimpri Chinchwad, who may face closer checks.

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