DHENKANAL: The fact finding team headed by Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) Laxmidhar Rath has submitted its report on firing incident in Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) to Collector Roopa Roshan Sahoo.
The team, comprising District Labour Officer (DLO) PK Mohanty and Sub-collector Nigamananda Panda, submitted the report after visiting the site at BSL and talking to union leaders, company officials and police.
Panda asked the company officials to strengthen the weak boundary wall and install CCTV cameras on the plant premises. The team also found that the boundary wall was broken and provided easy entry of anti-socials and thieves into the plant. The Sub-Collector also directed the company authorities to renovate the boundary wall.The team found that the licence of the weapon of security guard Khirod Sahoo, who had reportedly fired on the children, had expired in July, 2014 and was not renewed. In place of Sahoo, another security guard could have been deployed, who had a valid licence, the team observed.
Regarding the death of a worker Phabir Nayak, whose body was found at 7.30 am on January 29, the team found from workers’ register that he was on duty till 5.42 pm on the previous day. Mohanty said Nayak was staying in Room-13 but his body was found in Room-14. Besides, hemp and liquor bottles were found in the room among other intoxicants. The team said the post mortem report would ascertain the reason behind his death.
Meanwhile, acting on a petition filed by human rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy on the firing incident and death of a worker at BSL, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) registered a case on January 30. Tripathy urged NHRC to direct the State Government and Police Department to ensure safety and security of BSL workers besides taking strict action against erring officials. Stating that the incident violated human rights, the petitioner sought adequate compensation for the injured children and family of the deceased worker.