Two Dalit men in Tamil Nadu Thursday allegedly died of asphyxiation as they entered a sewage chamber at the staff quarters of Ordnance Clothing Factory (OCF) in Avadi to remove a blockage, officials said.
The police have identified the deceased as K Moses, 40, of Pattabiram, and C Devan, 50, of Giri Nagar, Avadi. The two were hired along with two other workers by a private contractor to remove the clog.
N Baskaran, Avadi Deputy Commissioner, told indianexpress.com that the police arrested the contractor and the supervisor on Thursday.
“The workers were made to enter the pit without providing any safety gear. The contractor belonged to the Most Backward Community (MBC) and the workers belonged to the SC community,” the officer said.
According to the police, Moses opened the manhole lid and entered the 15-feet deep pit and soon after he fainted. Devan also inhaled the toxic gas and fainted inside while trying to rescue Moses, they said.
“The other workers and onlookers soon alerted the Fire and Rescue Personnel and the local police rushed to the spot. The firefighters retrieved the workers and sent them to the hospital. Devan was in an unconscious state but Moses had died when he was brought out. At the hospital, Devan also failed to respond to the treatment,” said an officer.
The Avadi Tank Factory police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Indian Penal Code IPC and sent the bodies for post-mortem to the Government Kilpauk Hospital.
“We have also booked the contractor under other provisions of the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. They were remanded in judicial custody,” Baskaran stated.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed his condolences and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to each of the families of the victims from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.
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