Worker killed, another hurt in mattress factory after machine operator turns on foam mixer

Police have identified the deceased as Mohammed Arsad Ansari (20), who hailed from Palamu district of Jharkhand. Another worker Kailash Bharat Kol (21), who hails from Umaria in Madhya Pradesh, sustained serious injuries on the legs.

An FIR in the case was filed based on the statement given by Kol. According to the FIR, Kol and Ansari have been working on a machine that cuts pieces of old mattress foam and recycles them into mattress foam using a chemical process. One of the tasks the duo was allotted was to clean the machine every morning and remove the remaining pieces of foam from the last batch, before the fresh batch is loaded.

“Around 10am on Sunday, Kol and Ansari entered the mixing area of the machine and started cleaning. Suddenly the rotors of the machine started moving. Ansari was very close to the rotor and got tangled in the blades. Kol’s leg was stuck in the rotor but he managed to pull himself out by holding on to the door of the machine. Ansari however got pulled in further. He died after both his hands and legs were severed in the machine. Kol was rushed to a hospital and has received more than a dozen stitches on both his legs,” said an officer from Loni Kalbhor police station.

Police have booked the machine operator identified as Amit Ballu Dhurve, a resident of Loni Kalbhor, on the charges of causing death due to negligence.

“Probe till now has revealed that Dhurve switched on the machine without checking if any workers were inside or not. We have booked him for causing death due to negligence. We are investigating if more people were responsible for the mishap,” added the police officer.