Other States - Orissa   

BPSL workers go on the rampage

BHUBANESWAR: Several officials of the Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL), which is setting up a steel mill near the western Orissa town of Sambalpur, suffered grievous injuries and property worth crores of rupees was damaged when labourers turned violent following the death of a fellow worker in an accident on Saturday.

At around 8 a.m. a truck ran over Amir Chand Yadav (26) of Uttar Pradesh, killing him on the spot. Yadav was working as a welder.

With the dead body lying untouched and the management beyond reach, contract labourers went on a rampage. They torched vehicles parked inside the campus of the BSPL and entered the administrative, material and other sections and set most of the buildings on fire. The fire brigade took seven hours to extinguish the fire. Some 24 officials, including chief accounts officer of the BSPL B.N. Sharma, were injured in the attack.

By 9.30 a.m., a few policemen arrived on the scene to pacify the angry workers. But they too were targeted. One officer and two constables received head injuries. On information, a larger contingent of police descended. However, by that time everything was reduced to ashes.

“The management has made a grave mistake by not rushing the injured worker to hospital. The workers got infuriated seeing the dead body unattended,” Sanjay Kumar, Sambalpur SP, said over phone.

The accident was not the first of its kind. Over 30 workers reportedly lost their lives in different accidents since the company started construction work.

The SP said that since the management did not lodge FIR, the police had no idea about the extent of damage caused in the violence. Attempts to contact company officials proved futile.

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