Seven workers attempted suicide inside a factory manufacturing parts of modular kitchen in Indore Wednesday. A source said that the workers attempted suicide as they were being allegedly transferred to another factory run by the same company. The seven workers have been employed with the company for a period ranging from two to 20 years.
The seven workers have been identified as Jamunadhar Vishwakarma, Deepak Singh, Rajesh Mameroniya, Devilal Karodiya, Ravi Karodiya, Jitendra Dhamiya and Shekar Verma. The police said all seven workers were in a stable condition. They added that as per preliminary findings, the workers were not paid their wages regularly over the past seven months.
Speaking to media persons, Vishwakarma said: “They want to throw us out but cannot do so openly and so they took this route. The owner Ravi Bafna told us that you have to listen to what the HR says and do so. You cannot come to me. When we went to work today at the old factory, we were told there is no work for us. We know they’ll instead get workers from Delhi, Mumbai who have experience in the same field.”
Another worker said the seven persons who attempted suicide were removed from their jobs and the company was hiring new workers.
“Two days ago, the seven workers were told that there is no work at the factory and then suddenly on Wednesday work resumed as normal. The seven… were shocked to see that the factory was operating normally,” he said.
The worker added that the firm had fired several employees in the past as well in a similar manner.
According to police officials of Pardeshipura police station in Indore, the owner of the private factory told them that the seven employees were shifted to another factory, as the unit where they were presently employed was not doing well.
“The employees had agreed… two days ago, but on Wednesday after reaching the factory around 11am in the morning, they protested against the transfer and then attempted suicide by eating a poisonous substance. They were taken to MY Hospital,” said Pankaj Dwivedi, Town Inspector of Pardeshipura police station.
Dwivedi added that the statements of the seven workers have been recorded.
“The seven are out of danger. We were also told that they attempted to vandalise the factory. We are looking for CCTV evidence of the same and depending on it, further action will be taken…” Dwivedi told indianexpress.com.
Ravi Bafna, while speaking to media persons in MY Hospital, said: “Our firm produces wires and I was away when the security guard of our firm informed me that some workers have swallowed a poisonous substance. I rushed to the spot and saw their health was deteriorating and took them to the hospital. I’m not aware of the exact issue but we are looking into it.”
Notably, as per data released recently by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Madhya Pradesh recorded the third-highest number of suicides in the country with 14,965 cases in 2021, after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The state also accounted for 9.1 per cent of the total suicides recorded nationally.
