Three labourers die of asphyxiation while cleaning septic tank in Ahmedabad, two booked: Police

The police have booked the labour contractor and plant manager of the company for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and detained them.

The police identified the deceased as Prakash Soma Parmar (21), Sunil Popat Rathva (25) and Vishal Mohan Thakor (22).

According to the police, the incident took place on Friday morning at the denim manufacturing company called MK Creation. The unit had remained shut for some time, and the owner wanted to restart the facility and had hired a contractor to clean the septic tank, said police sources.

Inspector GJ Ravat of Danilimda police station said, “According to the primary probe, one worker fell unconscious while cleaning the underground tank after he inhaled toxic gases, following which the other two followed to see what had happened to him but they too fell unconscious”.

“The three workers were somehow taken out of the tank and rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead,” said Ravat.

Based on a complaint by victim Prakash’s uncle Bhagwan Dahya Parmar (52), an FIR was filed into the matter at Danilimda police station at 2:05 pm on Friday.

The FIR, quoting Bhagwan Parmar, said that around 9 am Friday, he got a call from his niece Asha who informed him that her brother Prakash Soma Parmar along with Sunil and Vishal “had suffered ill effects of noxious gases and had been admitted to LG Hospital in Maninagar”. However, when the complainant reached the hospital, he found that all three had been declared dead by the doctor.

When the families of the deceased spoke to two other men, who were witnesses to the tragedy, they found out that ETP contractor Jignesh Ramesh Purabiya had contracted the cleaning of the tank for Rs18,000, said police.

According to the FIR, five workers had started cleaning the tank on Thursday. “Before starting work, they had sought safety equipment such as masks, helmets and gloves but none of these were provided to the five workers either by Purabiya or by manager Naushad Salim Shaikh,” said the FIR.

The three labourers resumed the work without safety equipment on Friday, said the police.

LG Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Leena Dabhi told The Indian Express, “The three men had suffered the effects of gases from an underground septic tank and were brought to the hospital around 9:45 am. They were brought dead.”

Accused manager Naushad Salim Shaikh and contractor Jignesh Ramesh Purabiya have been booked under BNS Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125 (endangering human life or safety), 286 (negligent conduct involving poisonous substances), and 54 (abettor present). Till the filing of this report, both accused were detained and had not been placed under arrest. A probe is underway into the matter.