Pune: The accident at the sugar factory in Beed, which claimed the lives of five workers, was due to negligence, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde alleged on Sunday, while demanding a thorough probe into the mishap.
Mr. Munde, who visited the Vaidyanath Sugar Cooperative Factory in Beed’s Parli town, further alleged that the factory management was using the police to prevent a thorough probe into the incident. Late on Friday, boiling sugarcane juice stored in a tank fell on workers, scalding around a dozen of them. Five workers have succumbed to injuries so far, while at least four are said to be critical. They are admitted to hospitals in Parli and Latur district.
The sugar factory was set up by late BJP leader Gopinath Munde in 2006, who was the factory’s chairman till his death in a road accident in June 2014. His daughter, State Minister of Rural Development, Women and Child Welfare Pankaja Munde, is said to be closely associated to it. Mr. Munde, who is Ms. Munde’s cousin, was briefly stopped by the police from entering the factory. The cousins are bitter political rivals.
Accusing the factory management of attempting to prevent his entry, Mr. Munde said, “This unfortunate incident should not be a moment for playing politics. Despite the fact that I, too, am a stakeholder in this factory, I was prevented from entering the premises by the management, who used the police to bar my entry.” The senior NCP leader was allowed to enter the factory, but without those accompanying him.
Mr. Munde later met the deceased’s kin, and spoke the investigating officer on the probe status. “While a probe will reveal whether the tank, in which the juice was boiling, was old, there can be no doubt that this tragedy is a result of a gross human error,” he said.
