Three arrested for hiring labourers who died during manual scavenging
The incident took place around 3.16 pm on Thursday at a public toilet, on Charkop link road in front of Atharv complex, Ekta nagar.
2 min read
The deceased, all residents of Cheetah camp, were identified as Sayyad Rauf alias Baba, 35, Ganpati Virswamy, 45, and Annadurai Velmil, 40. THE KANDIVALI police Friday arrested three men on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for allegedly hiring three men, who died during manual scavenging work in a septic tank of a public toilet in Kandivali (west) a day ago. The police said that the septic tank was half empty but the trio had gone there to check on a leak due to which a foul smell was emanating from the tank.
The accused have been identified as Nizamuddin Khan, 45, whose organisation was given the contract by BMC to manage the public toilet, Dharmaraj Rana, 35, who took sub-contract from Khan, and Krishnamurthy Sandan, 49, a contractor who hired the three labourers. Booked under IPC section 304 (II) culpable homicide not amounting to murder and section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, the three were produced before a magistrate court and remanded to police custody.
The incident took place around 3.16 pm on Thursday at a public toilet, on Charkop link road in front of Atharv complex, Ekta nagar. The deceased, all residents of Cheetah camp, were identified as Sayyad Rauf alias Baba, 35, Ganpati Virswamy, 45, and Annadurai Velmil, 40.
“All three were standing on a ladder in the tank, one below the other, and Sandan was overseeing their work. They were fishing out the waste with buckets. The one at the bottom of the tank passed out due to the toxic gas. The second person got down to check on the first and passed out as well. The third man then stepped down to help the two and he also passed out. There was no space for ventilation,” said inspector Vilas Thakare of Kandivali police station.
The accused said they had complained to the BMC about the foul stench but the civic body did nothing about it. However, BMC ward officer Sandhya Nandekar said, “There was no need to clean the tank, which was half empty. Also, all private operators who are given contracts to manage the public toilets have been told that manual scavenging is illegal.”
You May Like
