Bhubaneswar/Keonjhar: Odisha’s labour department Wednesday lodged a police complaint seeking a thorough investigation into alleged fraudulent means by showing minor girls as adults and sending gullible tribal persons to work in hazardous industries in Tamil Nadu.
So far, 13 female workers from Odisha, including 5 minors, have died in the June 21 gas leak incident at a factory in the southern state, and all victims were from the Juanga community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), of Keonjhar district, the department said.
The Labour department filed complaints at eight police stations in Keonjhar district, from where the women who died of ammonia gas leak were sent to the seafood unit in Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.
During an inquiry, the labour department found several illegalities in the recruitment and deployment of tribal migrant workers, including minors, to Tamil Nadu using forged identities.
Quoting its inquiry report, the Labour department in the FIR mentioned that the most disturbing aspect of the matter is that the minor girls were employed in the said hazardous industrial establishment by using forged identities.
“They (minor girls) were engaged in the names of adult women by fraudulently using the Aadhaar credentials of those adults. It is further alleged that one Srikant Juanga, in connivance with the management/recruiting organisation, facilitated the engagement of these minor girls in a hazardous occupation by concealing their true identities and ages,” the FIR mentioned.
The Labour department alleged that one of the deceased minor girls, Jamini Juanga, was shown as Parbati Juanga who is an adult, alive and present at her residence in Keonjhar during the inquiry.
“The above facts indicate the possibility of serious violations of various provisions of law, including illegal recruitment of migrant workers, employment of minors in hazardous occupations, identity fraud, forgery, cheating, trafficking-related offences (where applicable), and other offences under the relevant labour and criminal laws,” the department said.
“The middleman Srikant Juanga had hired 24 tribal workers of whom 11 were minors. Of the 13 women so far died in the TN gas leak incident, five were minor girls. The department has urged the police to undertake a detailed probe and initiate legal action against the culprits,” Keonjhar District Labour Officer (DLO) Akash Bisoyi told PTI over the phone.
He said that those who went to Tamil Nadu from Keonjhar district did not inform the local authorities that they were going outside the state as migrant workers.
“This tragedy has also raised concerns over the safety of migrant workers and the role of labour agents in interstate recruitment,” said a police officer, adding that Srikant Juanga was absconding.
PTI