The Bengaluru police have arrested Mayur, the owner of Asha Sweets, in connection with the death of two men who were engaged in manual scavenging at the company’s factory in Sompura industrial area in Bengaluru Rural district. Mayur was named as the second accused in the first information report.
On October 31, two persons – Lingaraju and Naveen, both 26 years old – employees of JRR Aqua Private Limited, which had a sub-contract with Asha Sweet Centre for cleaning the sewage treatment plant (STP), were made to descend 18 feet into a sewage treatment plant (STP) to clean it, in violation of norms and without any safety gear. Tragically, they both died inside the STP.
Lingaraju and Naveen were related to each other and hailed from Madhugiri in Tumakuru and Ananthapur respectively, in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
According to the police, the factory had followed neither the prescribed norms to operate the STP nor the standard operating procedure (SOP) to clean it.
As per Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013 (MS Rules, 2013), it is mandatory for the employer to provide the safety gear and devices and ensure that safety precautions are taken. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has also issued SOP for cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
The police investigation revealed that Asha Sweets, which has 18 outlets across Bengaluru, did not have the requisite permission from various departments, including the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
Earlier, the police had arrested Santhosh, the site in-charge, and Ramesh, the owner of JRR Aqua Private Limited.
They were booked under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023 and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
In a recent disclosure made by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, 377 persons have died between 2019-2023 while engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.