The police on Friday arrested three persons in connection with the death of five workers at a waste oil refining unit at Tubinakere Industrial Area on the outskirts of Mandya on Thursday.
Arun and Kumar, the owners of Sampath Refinery Pvt. Ltd., and Amritraj, a senior employee of the unit, were arrested on the charge of failing to adhere to safety measures while carrying out operations at the unit. They were produced in a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody.
Munna, a friend of the workers who were asphyxiated, had filed a complaint against the three people with the Mandya Rural police.
District Environmental Officer Shakunthala Bai, who visited the unit on Friday, told The Hindu that the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had decided to recommend closure of the factory as it failed to adhere to safety norms recommended by the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.
“The board will also ask the local authorities to disconnect water and power supply to the factory,” she said.
The bodies of Bablu Singhasan (26), his brother Gamma Singhasan (23), Chetu Munnar (24) and Shriram Boch (25), all from Mustafabad village in Bihar, and Raju Mitayal (27) of Logrora village in Madhya Pradesh were handed over to the respective families.
