New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) The NHRC on Friday said it has issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government and the Superintendent of Police of Virudhunagar, in the wake of an explosion at a private firecracker manufacturing unit in that district in which several lives were lost.
At least 23 people were charred to death, and a few others sustained grievous injuries following a massive explosion at the unit near Virudhunagar on April 19, local police had said.
The National Human Rights Commission in a statement said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that several workers died and six others were injured in an explosion at a private firecracker manufacturing unit in the Kattanarpatti area of Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu.
“Reportedly, more than 100 workers including women were present at the factory complex when the incident occurred on April 19. The blast was allegedly triggered due to friction during the chemical mixing and manufacturing process. Reportedly, in a recent similar incident in the district, four persons had died,” it said.
The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of human rights violations of the victims.
Therefore, it has issued notices to the chief secretary of Tamil Nadu and the Superintendent of Police, Virudhunagar, seeking a detailed report on it within two weeks, it said.
The report should include the status of health of the injured persons, investigation of the case and compensation, if any, has been paid to the next of kin of the deceased and the injured persons, the rights panel.
In a separate statement, the NHRC sought a report on the explosion at a thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh, which killed 13 workers and injured 20 others on April 14.
It gave two weeks to the state’s chief secretary and the director general of police to submit the report, expecting details on the status of the disbursement of compensation to the affected workers and the health of those injured.
The NHRC also took suo motu cognisance of a media report which said that two girl students died after an iron gate of a government primary school collapsed upon them in Odisha’s Gajapati district on April 15.
Reportedly, the incident occurred when the girls were playing near the school entrance.
It issued notices to Odisha chief secretary and Gajapati superintendent of police seeking a detailed report on it within two weeks. PTI KND AMJ AMJ
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