‘No agreement to provide jobs to Bisada accused’

ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2015, AN ANGRY MOB BEAT UP 55YEAROLD IKHLAQ AND INJURED HIS SON DANISH, 22, AT DADRI’S BISADA VILLAGE

NOIDA: The National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPCL) in Dadri on Sunday said that the company had not come to an agreement with any official or leader to provide jobs to those accused in Mohammad Ikhlaq’s lynching in Bisada village.

The response from NTPC was issued in the form of a statement a day after some sections of the media reported that Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar had allegedly helped the accused men get employment in NTPC’s Bisada plant.

“No agreement has been ever made to provide jobs to the accused in Ikhlaq’s lynching and none of them have been employed. We have a professional procedure through which people are engaged on a contractual basis,” said Pankaj Saxena, spokesperson of NTPCL, Dadri.

On September 28, 2015, an angry mob beat up 55-year-old Ikhlaq and injured his son Danish, 22, at Dadri’s Bisada village after an announcement from a local temple that they had consumed ‘beef’ and were storing it in their house. Ikhlaq had succumbed to his injuries while Danish survived with critical injuries.

Eighteen people were arrested for the incident later, all of who have procured bail from the Allahabad High Court in the past two years.

An FIR was also lodged against Ikhlaq’s family later after a government forensic probe said the meat recovered from Ikhlaq’s fridge was beef, contradicting an earlier report that said it was mutton.

Ikhlaq’s family was later provided accommodation in Delhi and stay in the National Capital. In the last two years, The family members since have never visited Bisada and their house stands locked.

Saxena said that NTPCL has provided employment to thousands of people since the inception of its plant in Bisada in 1986. Candidates are hired, based on their skill sets and the company’s requirement, Saxena said. “We have acquired land from as many as 26 villages for the plant. When we have a vacancy, we contact villagers from whom we have purchased our lands and based on their qualification, offer them jobs like those of a technician, machine operators, and casual labourers,” Saxena added.

“If employment is provided to the lynching accused, all due rules and regulations will be followed. We will focus on all legal aspects,” the NTPC official told HT..Meanwhile, MLA Tejpal Nagar, also denied the media reports. “I am not aware of the matter,” he said.