Stampede-like situation at hotel during walk-in interview: Office of Bharuch employment officer issues showcause notice to company
The agency covered around 20 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra as part of a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
3 min read
Videos of a massive queue, marked by pushing and shoving, as aspirants tried to get a toehold on a ramp leading to the entrance of a hotel in Ankleshwar where the interview was being held, has gone viral on social media. (Videograb/X/@RahulGandhi)A day after the Bharuch Police said it has started a sou motu probe into a stampede-like situation that was witnessed on July 9 at Ankleshwar, when around 1,000 people turned up at a hotel for walk-in interviews held by a firm for 40 vacancies, the office of the Employment Officer in Bharuch on Friday issued a showcause notice to the firm, Thermax Limited, while also visiting its premises as part of its probe into the incident.
A private chemical company, Thermax Limited, had invited aspirants for walk-in interview for 40 vacancies at hotel Lords Plaza between 9 am and 4.30 pm.
On Thursday, videos of a massive queue, marked by pushing and shoving, as aspirants tried to get a toehold on a ramp leading to the entrance of the hotel, had gone viral on social media. The railing of the ramp finally collapsed, leading to several aspirants falling off, though no one was injured.
Later in the day, the office of Employment Officer (Bharuch), in a statement, had said the company had organised the recruitment drive on its own at the hotel, which was a small place to accommodate over 500 people. It added that the company did not inform the employment officer about the drive and violated the Compulsory Notification of Vacancies Act, 1959. It further said that the company did not consider that police security was needed at the venue.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Bharuch Employment Officer Sanjay Gohil said that in a visit to the company premises on Friday, officials checked records of the recruitment drive while also speaking to the company’s Employment Relation Manager Tejal Chauhan.
“The company had held such a recruitment drive for the first time in three years. The officials accepted their mistake. We explained that if they would have approached us, it would have been organised in a better way, as the drive could have been held in bigger spaces like in colleges. The company should have also asked for police security if such a large number of people was to turn up,” Gohil said.
He added, “We advised them that in future, they should inform the employment exchange office before holding such a recruitment drive. The employment exchange is ready to offer its services… If different time slots had been allotted to applicants, such an incident could have been avoided,” he added.
Gohil said a showcause notice has been issued to the company, asking why it had not intimated the Employment Exchange office before conducting the recruitment drive. A reply has been sought within seven days.
“Now, on the basis of the reply, we would see what further steps can be taken. We have two options, we can either move court or impose a penalty on the company,” he added.
You May Like
