Dera Bassi septic tank deaths: Magisterial probe merely an eyewash …

Heart-wrenching scenes were witnessed at the Dera Bassi civil hospital on Saturday where grieving relatives of those who died while cleaning septic tanks at a meat processing unit demanded immediate release of compensation before giving consent to perform the postmortem examination.

Grieving family members of the victims outside the civil hospital in Dera Bassi on Saturday.

While one of the victims, Kurban, is survived by wife and six children, Manak and Janak leave behind a one-year-old daughter and two young kids, respectively. (HT Photo)

However, they were later pacified Dera Bassi ASP Darpan Ahluwalia following which they allowed the authorities to conduct the autopsy. The victims who died on Friday were plumbing contractor Manak Singh, 25, a resident of Behra village, and his workers Janak Thapa, 35, a native of Nepal, and Shridhar Pandey, 25, and Kurban, 35, both hailing from Bihar. Manak was a permanent employee of the factory.

Their family members said the magisterial probe was merely an eyewash. Life is a struggle for us, said one of the victims' kin. "We have to work every day to make the ends meet.

We do not have the kind of money or resources to fight any legal battle," the aggrieved family member said. Zulekha, 34, said after the death of her husband Kurban, she has been left alone to look after her six children -- four daughters and two sons -- the youngest of whom is just two-year old. The family had migrated from Bihar a few years ago and was living in migrant quarters.

"Instead of celebrating Eid, I am running around in the corridor of the civic hospital with my children. We were better off in Bihar. I do not know how would I feed my six children," she added.

"The probe will bear no outcome. Even if the culprits are nabbed, what will happen?" asked Gulafza, Kurban's elder daughter. "Will the system ensure the well-being of my five siblings?

My father was the sole breadwinner of the family. None of us standing here has any money now," she added. Manak's brother Surinder said he had married just two years ago and left behind a one-year-old daughter.

Shanti, wife of Janak, said while their family lived in Dera Bassi, one of their children is in Nepal, unaware of the tragedy. Dera Bassi subdivisional magistrate Himanshu Gupta said bodies of Kurban and Janak have been sent to their native places in Bihar and Nepal. Manak's cremation was performed in his village, while family members of Pandey will arrive on Sunday to claim his body.

AAP MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa, who was also present at the hospital, said, "Those who died cannot be brought back, but I assure that I am standing with the victims' families.

The family members of those who died in the tragedy will be offered all kinds of support.

We need to put an end to the menace and have to find a permanent solution."

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