Dera Bassi asphyxiation deaths: Kin hold protest, initial probe points towards negligence

The relatives of the deceased, who were at the hospital for collecting the bodies of their loved ones after autopsy on Saturday, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible for the deaths.

By: Express News Service

Mohali | April 23, 2023 07:01 AM IST

3 min read

The family members of one of the victims had on Friday alleged that none of the men were provided any safety gear by the factory management and all norms were blatantly violated.

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Family members of four men, who had died due to asphyxiation while trying to clean a sewage pit at a meat processing plant in Behra village, staged a brief protest at Dera Bassi Civil Hospital on Saturday, prompting senior Mohali administration officials to step-in.

The relatives of the deceased, who were at the hospital for collecting the bodies of their loved ones after autopsy on Saturday, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible for the deaths. Senior officials of the administration later reached out to them and assured that an investigation in the matter had been launched and appropriate action would be taken against all the culprits.

According to the police, four men — identified as Janak Thaapa, Sidharth Pandey, both residents of Nepal, Kurwan, a resident of Bihar, and Manak Singh, a resident of Behra village — had entered into the 9-foot-deep sewage pit of Federal Agro meat plan on Friday afternoon to clean it. They inhaled toxic fumes emanating from the sewage pit and had collapsed. They were later rushed to a hospital where doctors declared them brought dead.

The family members of one of the victims had on Friday alleged that none of the men were provided any safety gear by the factory management and all norms were blatantly violated.

Meanwhile, the labour contractor Yamu told the police that he had received Rs 6000 for cleaning the sewage pit of the Federal Agro meat plant. Yamu has also told the police that despite Friday being a holiday on account of Eid, the factory manager had still asked him to come in and get the job done during the day.

Police on Friday had registered an FIR against three persons — Kamil Qureshi, the owner of Fedral Agro, PS Hamid, the general manager, and Shahid Hamid, the manager of the plant — under sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code ( IPC). None of the accused have been arrested yet.

Dera Bassi MLA Kuljeet Singh Randhawa on Saturday said that an inquiry had already been marked into the incident and all culprits shall be brought to justice soon.

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On Saturday, the family members of Kurwan, while taking custody of his body, said that he was scheduled to visit his native place in Bihar to attend the wedding of his sister on April 25. Kurwan is survived by his wife and six children.

The police said that the family of anoter victim, Janak Thapa, was expected to reach Dera Bassi on Sunday. Thapa was a resident of Nepal.

The third victim, Sidharth Pandey, who was the brother-in-law of labour contractor Yamu, is survived by his mother.
The family members of victim Manak Singh alleged that the factory’s manager, Shahid Hamid, knew that the sewage pit was clogged for the past six to seven months. Yet, they claimed, he failed to provide any safety gear to the men who entered to clean it.

Derabassi ASP, Darpan Ahluwalia, said that so far their preliminary investigation had pointed towards negligence on part of the factory management and the raids were on to nab the culprits named in the FIR.

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