Bhubaneswar: The Labour Department has filed criminal cases against Srikant Juanga, a middleman accused of sending workers to a Tamil Nadu seafood processing factory where an ammonia gas leak killed 14 Odisha labourers.
Surya Narayan Mali, Additional Labour Commissioner, Keonjhar, said a complaint has been filed against Juanga at Telkoi police station. Complaints will also be lodged in police stations of other districts where the deceased labourers hailed from.
Juanga, of Rangamatia village, has been accused of forging identity documents, including Aadhaar cards, to facilitate the employment of minor girls in the factory.
“We have rescued 58 labourers from the factory. Our team is also in Tamil Nadu to monitor the situation. The rescued labourers will be rehabilitated properly as per government guidelines,” Mali said.
The death toll in the ammonia gas leak has risen to 14 after 21-year-old Anjali Juang of Kharaba village under Harichandanpur block in Keonjhar district succumbed to her injuries.
