Bhubaneswar, Aug. 22: Businessman Satpal Singh, whose family members died when fire broke out at his residence here on August 3, today agreed to bear the educational expenses for the three siblings of his deceased maid.

Tanu Das alias Khushi, the maid, also died in the fire, along with four family members of Singh.

While appearing before the child welfare committee, Khurda, the businessman, who owns Pal Heights that runs hotels and shopping complexes, also promised to provide job to Khushi's mother, Kakali Das.

Committee member Benudhar Senapati said Singh had agreed to provide pay Rs 2,000 every month to Khushi's 10-year-old sister, Mantu, till she completed her schooling.

"Besides, he will also provide Rs 4,000 every month for her higher studies. Similarly, Singh also agreed to enrol the other two siblings in an English-medium school and bear all their educational expenses," said Senapati.

While Khushi's six-year-old brother, Raju, was admitted to Station Bazaar UG UP School, her three-year-old sister, Nandini, was enrolled in an Anganwadi centre a few days after the fire.

Earlier, the committee, which is the authority to deal with matters concerning children in need of protection and care, had summoned Singh, seeking his appearance as a part of investigation to find out the remuneration paid to the minor girl, the circumstances in which she was roped in and the tenure of her work with the family.

"Singh reiterated that it was his younger son, Gagan Pal, who had employed Khushi five months before the mishap took place, and he was ignorant about the remuneration paid to her. Singh also agreed to bear the treatment expenses of the three siblings. The businessman will open a bank account on the name of the 10-year-old sister of Khushi. The district child protection officer will monitor the process," said Senapati.

Cops clueless

Police are yet to get any clue about the two groups of youths, who clashed on the Nayapalli flyover on yesterday evening. The police have found two empty bullet shells and an abandoned motorcycle from the spot and suspected that both the groups were from Cuttack.

"Eyewitnesses said both the groups had clashed, following which two bullets were fired in the air. Later, all of them fled the spot leaving behind the motorcycle. We are trying to identify the criminals involved in the incident," said a police official.

Ambulance strike

Emergency health care services were hit across state today because of a strike by the 108 ambulance staff members. The strike was called in protest against the arrest of the 108 ambulance staff union president Manoj Sahu. The protesters stationed 26 ambulances near the Cuttack collectorate and all the 183 employees tendered their resignation to the collector.