Factory collapse: Owner booked, govt announces Rs 2 lakh ex gratia

After registering a case against four persons in a factory collapse incident occurred at Phase VIII, Focal Point, here, that cost the lives of three workers, now the Ludhiana police have booked the owner of Kohli Dyeing, Naveen Kohli, as an accused in the already registered FIR.

Earlier, four persons, including caretaker of the factory Neeraj Kapoor, was booked by the police on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. On Monday, after the Focal Point police inquired about the real owner of the factory from the Industry Department, Kohli’s name was added to the FIR. Now, raids were being conducted by the police to nab the owner.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal on Monday stated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of three individuals who lost their lives in the mishap at Focal Point.

He visited the site and Fortis Hospital. Jorwal said the government would cover all medical expenses for the nine workers who were at present admitted to the hospital. He held discussions with doctors and assured comprehensive support to the families of the workers.

Jorwal said three teams from the NDRF had successfully rescued four workers, who were doing well. He noted that the NDRF would remain on a standby mode, if any additional assistance was required. There were currently no reports of any worker trapped under the debris.

He said the teams were on the site to clear the area while adhering to all safety protocols. They had already removed drums containing sulphuric acid and acetic acid from the site, which will be disposed of as per regulations of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

The Deputy Commissioner also mentioned that a magisterial probe, led by Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of East, Jasleen Kaur Bhullar, has been initiated to determine the exact cause of the incident. Furthermore, the Commissionerate Police has filed an FIR against five individuals and strict action will be taken against them.

The tragic incident occurred on Saturday and led to the deaths of three persons.

Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of three deceased persons. Hence, the kin would get Rs 3 lakh each as ex gratia.

Third body pulled out of debris

Lallan Yadav (42), a native of Bihar, whose body was pulled out from the debris on Monday morning, had fixed his daughter’s marriage about four months ago and now, he was making plans to go to his native place for making preparations for the wedding. As per his kin, Lallan was also having a train ticket for Bihar for March 14. Earlier, two bodies were pulled out of debris.