Giridih, Oct. 17: Two serious accidents in just two days have come as a shock to the workers of the rolling mills operating here.

While 22-year-old Md Murtaza, working at Mongia Hi-Tech, succumbed to injuries, 35-year-old Anil Singh, a crane operator at Atibir Hi-Tech private limited, sustained severe injuries in his right shoulder and has been referred to doctors in Dhanbad for better treatment.

Refusing to take responsibility, Santosh Sarawgi, the owner of Atibir, said that Singh was not an employee in his factory. This was, however, refuted by Suresh Singh, Anil’s brother. “My younger brother has been working with Atibir for the past 10 years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Md Murtaja, the only son of Md Mustafa, a resident of Moti Mohalla, Budiakhand, died on Monday night. He was injured critically after a hot rod punctured his stomach. “Soon after the accident he was rushed to a private nursing home but he succumbed to injuries on the way,” said a mill worker.

These incidents have once again raised questions regarding safety measures in the mills in Giridih. In September, too, there had been another tragic accident in Balmukund Sponge and Iron Private Limited.

“Murtaza, who was the sole bread earner in his family, had four sisters of whom two are married,” said Nishar Afroz, a neighbour.

But the owner of Mongia Hi-Tech, Gunwant Singh, refused to accept his unit was lacking in safety measures. He blamed the labourers, saying they did not follow safety measures.

But when the residents of Budiakhad gheraoed the owner’s house, he promised to give Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation and pension to Murtaza’s family.