Overview
- An ammonia gas leak at a seafood processing unit in Tiruvallur district on June 21 killed 17 women and left 83 people affected, with dozens treated in Chennai hospitals.
- Odisha’s labour department lodged eight FIRs between July 1 and 2 across Keonjhar district seeking probes into illegal interstate recruitment and identity fraud linked to the Tamil Nadu facility.
- The FIRs name a local middleman, Srikant (Srikanta) Juanga, who is reported to be absconding after allegedly recruiting about 24 workers from the Juanga PVTG in Keonjhar.
- Departmental inquiries say 11 of the recruited workers were minors and that minors were employed by using forged Aadhaar credentials of adult women, with five minor victims among the dead.
- The case raises questions about the safety of migrant labour from vulnerable tribal groups, exposes gaps in oversight of recruitment chains, and could prompt criminal action against agents and company representatives.