Officials want answers on death of sanitation workers

The Social Justice and Human Rights wing of the state police has issued a memo to the Adyar police for not registering a case against a well-known restaurant chain with relation to a case where four Dalit conservancy workers were killed while cleaning the sewage tank of the hotel located on OMR. 

The SJ & HR wing has sought an explanation from the Adyar police for not registering a case against the restaurant owners who had deputed the workers to clean the sewage, knowing that manual scavenging has been banned by the High Court. 

Adyar police toned down the action in the case by just booking a case against an agency run by one of the deceased in the case and against the restaurant manager. 

A highly placed source in the SJ & HR wing told DT Next that Adyar police could have booked a suo moto case against the restaurant owners who allowed the individuals to clean the sewage, resulting in loss of four lives. “During our enquiry, we have found out that Adyar police succumbed to some pressure and avoided framing charges against the proprietors of the restaurant chain. There was caste discrimination and also blatant violation of HC order,” the official added. 

Officials at Adyar police told the SJ & HR wing they could not book a case against the proprietors as there was no complaint against them. “We have booked a case against the agency which had run the scavenging agency run by one of the deceased Saravanan. Neither the survivor or victims’ family members have lodged a complaint against the restaurant proprietors,” an official attached to Adyar police said. 

However, the SJ & HR wing officials said that the police should have booked a suo moto case