Ramgarh: The management of the sponge iron factory in Ramgarh district signed a compensation agreement with the families of three engineers killed in a turbine explosion after a 14-hour protest and negotiations late on Saturday.Under the agreement, reached in the presence of labour officials, each family received Rs 30 lakh as compensation and Rs 1 lakh for cremation expenses.Sanjiv Kumar Keshari, 50, of Ranchi, Vineet Kumar Mahto, 25, of Kunda village in Bokaro, and Abhishek Pandey of Garhwa were charred to death late on Friday after a turbine at the factory’s captive power plant in Hehal village allegedly exploded because of overheating and triggered a fire.The incident triggered protests on Saturday morning, with villagers and relatives refusing to allow the bodies to be removed from the factory. They blocked the gate, demanding compensation, a job for a relative of each victim and a high-level probe.Ramgarh labour superintendent Anil Kumar Ranjan said the agreement was signed in the presence of labour enforcement officer Chandan Kumar Das. Barkagaon MLA Roshan Lal Choudhary, JKLM general secretary Giri Shankar Mahto, BJP district president Sanjiv Kumar Babla and villagers participated in the negotiations.“The management has agreed to immediately pay Rs 30 lakh compensation and Rs 1 lakh for last rites to each family. We have also demanded a safety audit of the plant,” Mahto said.Vineet’s father, 75-year-old farmer Nunu Mahto, broke down after signing the agreement. He had arrived from Bokaro with his wife, Manju Devi, 68. Vineet is survived by his wife Mamta Devi, 22, two-year-old daughter Girisha Kumari and five-month-old son Anmol. “We don’t want money; we want our son back. He was our only hope,” Vineet’s father said.The bodies were sent for postmortem examination. Police said an investigation was under way. Chief factory inspector Manish Sinha said an injured person, identified only as Rawani, was stable at a Ranchi hospital and the management had been directed to ensure proper treatment.
