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Ranchi, Feb. 10: The accidental death of a labourer at the upcoming Abhijeet Group power plant in Latehar sparked mob fury, as thousands of workers vandalised company property worth lakhs, injuring a Special Auxiliary Force (SAF) jawan and putting another black mark on Jharkhand’s industrial record.
Around 9.30am, a heavy iron plate fell on three men engaged at the proposed 1,740MW thermal power plant at Chandwa, injuring one seriously. Abhijeet Group employees and policemen took Sujit Kumar to Ranchi’s Apollo Group-managed hospital, where he died in the afternoon.
Hulaf Sao, the SAF jawan who received head injury while quelling the mob, is at Apollo Hospital, while the two others who were with Sujit received first-aid.
At the plant site, however, fuelled by the “insensitive local media”, rumours that two or three labourers had died on spot, agitated workers. The number swelled into a large mob, which dismantled about 10 vehicles, ransacked company offices and beat up Abhijeet Group executives.
“The company suffered a heavy loss. The process of lodging three FIRs is on. While police on its own will register one, the company and labourers will lodge one each,” Latehar sub-divisional police officer A.P. Dungdung said.
Chandwa police station OC Akhilesh Mandal said the spot resembled a battlefield with “not less than 3,000-4,000 furious labourers”.
Dungdung, who addressed agitators personally, said the rampage lasted from around 10am to 1.30pm. Sources said the company might announce compensation to Sujit’s next-of-kin tomorrow.
Abhijeet Group employs around 4,000 workers. The plant is set to have an investment of over Rs 10,000 crore.
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