Labourer burnt for not repaying loan dies

Prabhu Dayal, the unfortunate dalit labourer in a bangle unit who was allegedly burnt on Friday for not repaying a petty loan of ₹700, died on Saturday morning.

Confirming Dayal’s death due to burns, station officer of Linepaar police station, Abhay Kumar said, “The body was handed over to the family after post mortem examination.”

He said out of the seven accused, only one had been arrested so far and hunt was on for the others.

“The case has been registered against seven brothers, Pawan, Satish, Sanjay, Pradeep, Pramod, Bunty and Gangoli, all sons of Ranveer Baghel, a resident of Shyam Nagar in Firozabad. We have nabbed Gangoli and search is on for the others,” he said.

“The death has left many unanswered questions. The incident is just the tip of the iceberg of problems that labourers employed in Firozabad face,” said Firozabad MLA Manish Asija.

“These labourers, who are financially very weak are beaten and harassed when they are unable to repay loans taken from some influential people who run a parallel banking system, imposing interest at their own free will,” he added.

“The administration and police need to visit the localities where these labourers live. They should practice ‘social policing’ to instil confidence in these hapless people, one of whom died today,” further said Asija.

Prabhu Dayal, 45, was unmarried and lived with his aunt whom he considered his mother. Hundreds of labourers had gathered at the hospital where he was being treated and narrated the conditions, which led to his death.