J'khand: Compensation of Rs 31 lakh each given to families of 3 engineers burnt alive at steel plant

The families of three engineers who were charred to death in a fire at a steel factory in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district have been given Rs 31 lakh each in compensation, following protests and subsequent negotiations with the plant management, officials said.

Under an agreement reached late on Saturday, the management agreed to pay Rs 30 lakh each as compensation, along with an additional Rs 1 lakh each towards cremation and last-rites expenses, Ramgarh Labour Superintendent Anil Kumar Ranjan said. The agreement was signed in the presence of Labour Enforcement Officer Chandan Kumar Das, along with local leaders and villagers. The families have additionally sought a job for one dependent of each deceased employee, along with a high-level probe into the incident.

The deceased were identified as Sanjiv Kumar Keshari (50), Vineet Kumar Mahto (25) and Abhishek Pandey (24), who suffered fatal burn injuries in a blaze that broke out at the captive power plant of Maa Chinnamastika Ispat in Hehal village around midnight on Friday, officials said. Their bodies were subsequently sent for post-mortem examination, police said.

A fourth employee, Tarun Rajwar, sustained injuries in the incident and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ranchi. Chief Factory Inspector Manish Sinha said his condition was stable, and the factory management had been directed to ensure better treatment facilities for him.

According to eyewitnesses, a large number of workers were present at the factory at the time of the incident. Officials said the fire followed an explosion in the turbine, triggered by overheating of a control panel, though the precise cause remains under investigation, police said. Sinha said a two-member team, comprising a factory inspector and the Chotanagpur deputy chief inspector, has been constituted to investigate the incident.

The deaths had earlier triggered a 14-hour protest by villagers and family members of the victims, who blocked the factory gate and refused to allow the bodies to be removed until their demands were met. The protesters also called for a comprehensive safety audit of the plant.

(With inputs from PTI)