

PARADIP: Police on Saturday arrested a contractor and two employees of an agency over the death of a worker while trying to fix a leak in the pipeline of Bharat Gas Resources Limited (BGRL) at Taladanda within Kujang police limits on Friday.
The three included contractor Bishnu Prasad Dandpat of Baripada and two employees Soumya Kar and Basudev. A fourth accused is still at large.
The incident took place when 35-year-old Parimal Gaina of Bijaychandpur died while fixing a leakage from a sump connected to domestic gas pipeline laid by BGRL at Taladanda along Cuttack-Paradip state highway.
Subsequently, the victim’s brother Sukumar Gaina lodged an FIR at Kujang police station against the contractor and the company.
Sukumar alleged his brother’s death was due to negligence and lack of safety measures by the contractor and employees hired by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for repair work. He also demanded stern action against those responsible. A case was registered against the four accused.
SP Bhawani Shankar Udgata said, three accused, including the contractor, have been arrested in connection with the worker’s death during the gas leakage repair in Kujang. The incident was caused due to negligence and lack of safety measures, he said. Meanwhile, BPCL has announced compensation of `2 lakh to the victim’s family, the SP added. The BGRL laid pipelines from Paradip to Jagatsinghpur for supplying gas to domestic, industrial, and commercial premises, as well as CNG stations. BPCL hired employees for monitoring and repair work of the pipelines.