The vehicle of Powmex Steel company’s DGM on fire at Titlagarh in Balangir. Telegraph picture

Balangir, March 3: The deputy general manager of a steel company was set ablaze in his vehicle today allegedly by disgruntled workers of the factory in Titlagarh, 70km from here. Radheyshyam Rai (56) succumbed to burn injuries while being shifted from the Balangir district hospital to the Ispat General Hospital in Rourkela.

Sources said a group of 30 workers of Powmex Steel Limited stopped the vehicle in which Rai was coming out of the factory.

They got the driver and another employee of the company to step out of the vehicle before pouring fuel on it and setting it ablaze. The vehicle was completely gutted.

Rai, who was the DGM in-charge of operations, was occupying the rear seat of the vehicle. Before other staff members could rush to Rai’s rescue, the official had suffered 70 per cent burn injuries.

The factory, which had nearly 300 employees, had been facing labour unrest for the last one month. On Wednesday, the factory management had decided to terminate a few employees. This, sources believed, seemed to have been the immediate provocation for the disgruntled workers to allegedly indulge in the ghastly act.

Sources also said the company had suspended 14 regular workers and 45 contractual workers earlier.

It had decided on Wednesday to retrench some more workers which infuriated the employees.

The workers had been agitating for the last one month demanding regularisation of contractual workers, wage hike and promotion for regular employees.

Rai, who hailed from Varanasi, is survived by his wife, two daughters and sons-in-law. He had been living with his wife in Titlagarh.

Police are interrogating the driver, Kamal Behera, and factory employee Bichitrananda Panda, who was accompanying Rai.

Balangir collector Sailendra Narayan Dey and police chief Ajaya Sarangi visited the spot.

Sarangi said the management’s “decision to terminate some workers had provoked them to indulge in the violent act”.

“We have formed two squads to nab the accused persons. We will soon arrest the culprits. Investigation is on and we will soon know who all are involved,” Sarangi said. The district police chief, however, said that they had no idea about the ongoing unrest in the factory.

Describing the incident as unfortunate, Dey blamed the company management for the incident.

“I knew about the agitation going on in the factory. I had called the company management and the union leaders for a discussion to resolve the matter amicably. However, the company officials did not turn up for the meeting,” Dey said.

District labour officer Pradeep Bhoi said some of the disputes between the company and the labours had been pending in court.

“Since there are disputes between company and workers which are sub-judice, we are very careful while dealing with the unrest. Involvement of anti-social elements can’t be ruled out,” Bhoi said.

Local trade union leader Pramod Mishra attributed the incident to the failure of police, administration and labour department.

“Had the police been vigilant, the incident wouldn’t have taken place. The district administration could have solved the problems through negotiations,” said Mishra while accusing the labour department of being “pro-management”.