Ludhiana: Toxic fumes inhaled during an illegal, unequipped cleaning of a hand tools factory’s chemical effluent tank on Monday killed a man and his son alongside an industrial worker.Police have charged the management of Deep Tools with culpable homicide following the 2.30am incident, which occurred after the factory allegedly bypassed mandatory safety protocols and private disposal contracts to clear the waste.First Maan Singh, 56, entered the tank at the RK Road facility, and since he had no mask, the gas knocked him out. It incapacitated Amit, 26, as well when he jumped into the tank to rescue his father. Three factory workers assigned to assist the pair collapsed subsequently while trying to help.One of them, Shri Ram, 41, died, while Rajinder and Deepak survived and, later, were stabilised at a local hospital. Industrial Area assistant commissioner of police Inderjit Singh Boparai said the cleaning was “illegal”, as local regulations required JBR Technologies to handle all factory effluent for treatment and disposal.“Maan Singh and his son were called to clean the tank without any safety gear,” Boparai said. Deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain, who has ordered a magisterial inquiry, slammed the factory owners for failing to report the deaths to the district administration.Officials became aware of the fatalities only after hospital staff contacted them. Subdivisional magistrate (east) will lead a judicial inquiry into the incident, with a report expected within three days.Investigators are reviewing CCTV footage to establish the sequence of events, working with the Punjab Pollution Control Board to identify the specific toxic gas, and finding out why the factory bypassed its legal waste-disposal contract.No arrests were made, but police confirmed an FIR was lodged under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
