New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of reports regarding the death of four workers and severe injuries to two others in an explosion at a metal processing factory in Assam’s Cachar district.
Observing that the contents of the media report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of the human rights of the victims, the apex human rights body has issued notices to the Assam Chief Secretary and the Cachar Superintendent of Police, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
The NHRC said the report should include the status of the health of the injured workers as well as details regarding the disbursement of compensation to the next of kin of the deceased and the injured workers.
According to media reports, the explosion occurred on July 26 at around 11 a.m. inside the processing unit of a metal factory in Cachar district when molten metal reportedly exploded, killing four workers on the spot and seriously injuring two others.
The NHRC noted that more than 100 workers were present at the factory when the incident occurred. It also took note of allegations made by the victims’ families and local residents that similar incidents had occurred at the factory in the past.
The blast was reportedly so powerful that it was heard across the locality, with locals alleging that the victims’ bodies were severely mutilated in the explosion.
Meanwhile, five persons, including the factory owner, have been arrested in connection with the explosion following directions from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The arrested include the firm’s owner, Rakesh Kumar Surana, while the remaining accused were associated with the operation and management of the factory.
Police have registered a case and said further investigation is underway.
A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has also visited the factory premises to collect scientific evidence to ascertain the sequence of events leading to the explosion.
The deceased were identified as Appu Boraik, Kiron Munda, Shyamal Gaur and Sagar Nath, a resident of Agartala in neighbouring Tripura.
The Assam government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the four deceased workers.
Earlier, Assam Minister Kaushik Rai had said that a magisterial inquiry, a police investigation and a separate Labour Department probe had been ordered to ascertain the cause of the explosion and examine whether mandatory industrial safety protocols were followed.
Police have also said allegations by local residents and victims’ families that previous explosions at the factory were not reported and that there was an attempt to conceal the severity of the incident would be examined during the ongoing investigation.
–IANS
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