Solanki ensures the guilty escape onus

IF A tragedy has direct bearing on an SP MLA, the district officials crawl when asked to bend. That’s how industrialists and contractors easily escaped punishment even after their negligence cost three workers, none of them beyond 23 years of age, their precious lives.

All their families will get is a mere Rs 1 lakh each and two other unconscious workers all expenses paid treatment. This deal was pulled off by a few select adminisrative and police officials, who took personal pains to clear the mess close relatives of MLA Haji Mushtaq Solanki were in.

They braved the anger of workers who were particularly acerbic to the MLA and his men. Enraged workers had chased away the MLA and heavily stoned his vehicles before the officials chipped in with their own tactics — a mix of aggression and diplomacy — to ease the crisis.

In between, they never bothered to look into the grave anomalies the MLA’s relatives had committed. As a worker disclosed, their agitation was tactically ‘crushed’ as officials left them with just two options: accept the deal or keep agitating. Nothing else, such as registration of FIR was acceptable. “We all know the money isn’t enough for their families. But we were forced to accept their offer,” the worker said.

To make their plan work, officials first prevented the Chakeri police from entertaining any complaint, while they remained tightlipped about whereabouts of the five workers till late night. It was revealed after the workers had mellowed down and cooperated with the proceedings.

Thereafter, the bodies were dispatched to mortuary where autpsy was performed in the night. The bodies were handed over to respective families in the wee hours and it was ensured the bodies of Rashid and Israr were buried and that of Baijnath cremated at the earliest. When the HT tried to talk to certain officials who dealt with the situation, some refused to comment, while others said the problem was over and no one really wanted to lodge an FIR — a claim the tannery workers’ leader like Fakhruddin Ahmed ridiculed. According to him, the case was fit for criminal proceedings as the ill-fated workers were asked to clean the pit where gaseous formation is a common feature, without any protection kit.

Secondly, the owners and contractors rushed the unconscious workers in their vehicles without informing the fellow workers or their family members. Till late night not a single word was spoken about their condition. As for the officials, he pointed out, they right from the word go neither listened nor acted.

Also, the standard protocol of calling the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) to the site was not followed. His observation would have given a better idea of safety measures followed by the UP Tannery. Sources said these points of Ahmed actually had brought Samajwadi Party city president Mehtaab Alam, head on with the MLA who was hell bent to safeguard interest of relatives.