Child labourer dies on duty in Mangalore

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 17, 2011 : A boy, identified as Mohammed Shodhan of Muradabad in Uttar Pradesh, died when he fell on glasses in the glass firm that had employed him. This tragic incident took place late on the night of Tuesday in Bejai, Mangalore.

 

Reliable sources say that Shodhan was asked to climb on the top of a truck loaded with glass items. When he was unloading the items, he slipped and fell on certain glass slabs inside the lorry. The impact caused severe head injury, and although he was rushed to a hospital immediately, he could not be saved and died at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

While witnesses say that the boy fell on glass slabs and injured his head, the police say that he was knocked down by a lorry, which was moving reverse near Empire Glasses, Bejai.

Reliable sources say that the proprietor of Empire Glasses tried his hardest to send the body back to Uttar Pradesh with his brother and an acquaintance to hush up the case. But a group of people, suspecting that the boy was not older than 14 years, wanted a post mortem done on the body.

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) immediately arrived on the scene when doubts were raised regarding the age of the deceased. Immediately, the police authorities ordered a post mortem on the body of Shodhan and a report was released on the afternoon of Wednesday, stating that the boy was 15 - 16 years of age.

But Asha Nayak, the president of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), has voiced a different opinion. She said that the boy is still a minor and that the proprietor of the firm has violated the Juvenile Justice Act by employing him. She said that CWC will ensure that the victim’s family is compensated. She also said that efforts are being made to find out more about the deceased and that the CWC in Uttar Pradesh has already been contacted.

The proprietor has already been booked under the IPC 304A for negligence and an FIR has been filed against him. Neena Nayak, the chairperson of the Child Rights Commission, said that the commission will take the required steps as soon as they get reports from the police and the CWC.