Three workers were killed and another injured while cleaning a septic tank at a private hospital in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur Tuesday. While police were in the process of registering a criminal complaint, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai Wednesday said any such work would be carried out in future only after permission is taken from the municipal corporation failing which criminal action shall be taken.
The incident took place around 7 pm in the premises of the Ramkrishna Care Hospital at Pachpedi naka. The three dead workers were identified as Anmol Manjhi (25), Govind Sendre (35), and Satyam Kumar (22), all residents of Simran city.
A police officer said the three men were hired by a contractor. “One of them entered first and fell unconscious. The other two went in to find him. Then a fourth person went in with a rope tied to him but he too fell unconscious and was pulled out.” The incident led to outrage among family members and relatives of the dead who protested outside the hospital demanding strict action. DCP (West Zone) Sandeep Patel said Wednesday, “We are in the process of registering an FIR.”
CM Sai said, “We have decided that from now on, if anyone gets this kind of work done without the permission of the municipal corporation, a criminal case will be registered against them. We are issuing a directive to this effect…”
The hospital said, “To ensure their long-term welfare, the hospital management has voluntarily extended a comprehensive support package for each family, including financial compensation of Rs 30 lakh, monthly sustenance support of Rs20,000 for an immediate family member, full educational support for minor children, and free lifetime medical treatment for immediate kin…,” it said.
