A six-year-old Dalit girl was electrocuted after she accidentally touched a live wire in a textile unit, during the late hours of Saturday.
Tension prevailed at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Sunday as her parents refused to receive her body after post-mortem examination.
Her father B. Balasubramaniam (35) and mother B. Thulasi (28) claimed that they were working in a power loom unit as bonded labourers for three years and sought steps to be taken to free them.
The Karumathampatty police, investigating the incident, said that the victim B. Nadhini (6), a first standard student, lived in a shed with her parents and sister B. Narmadha (8), in the same compound of the power loom unit at Kaduvettipalayam, where her parents worked.
“On Saturday, her parents went to Ponmedu near Sathyamangalam, in Erode. The two sisters were playing in the afternoon when the victim accidentally touched a live wire lying on the ground,” Inspector S.A. Sekaran said.
The police said that a case was registered against Shammugam, owner of the spinning mill under section 304(A) (death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. He said that a search was on for the accused.
Nandhini’s parents claimed that their daughter was electrocuted because she came into contact with the metal fence that separated the power loom unit and the textile mill. In the police complaint, the girl’s father claimed that the fence was connected with a live wire. “That was how she sustained injuries on her forehead and thighs,” they added.
M. Thangavel of Vizhuthugal, an NGO working for the cause of bonded labourers said that the couple wanted to take their children with them to Erode. But the owners of the unit (Mayilsamy and Nagaraj) refused to allow them as they feared that the family might not return to work. The girl would not have died, if she was allowed to go with her parents,” he alleged.
He urged the police to book the three accused under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act and under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. Mr. Thangavel added that they would be petitioning the District Collector in this regard.
The police denied the allegations and added that further inquires were under way. “We have requested Tangedco officials to investigate and find out whether it was an electrified fence” .
