NTPC says it has not promised jobs to Bisada lynching accused
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.
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.
The village of Bisada shot in to the limelight in September, 2015, after Mohammad Ikhlaq, 55, was lynched by a mob on suspicion of slaughtering a cow and storing its meat for consumption. Ikhlaq’s son Danish was also brutally beaten up during the incident and later admitted to a Delhi hospital.
Eighteen people were arrested for the incident later, all of who have procured bail from the Allahabad High Court in the past two years.
Ikhlaq’s family was later provided accommodation in Delhi and stay in the National Capital. In the last two years, Ikhlaq’s family members 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 froma s many as 26 villages for ithe 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.
NTPC’s statement also said, “A contrac labourer, Neeraj, had recently committed suicide near the plant in Bisada after he was disengaged from services for being drunk during working hours. We made an agreement that the wife of Neeraj would be given Rs 8 lakh as well as employment. It was our only step, but it was misquoted.”
NTPC further mentioned that under its corporate social responsibility, it takes various steps for the development of the villages in Dadri and include community development works.
Sanjay Rana, whose son Vishal Rana, 22, is accused and out on bail said, “All the 18 men who are out on bail are sitting idle at home and have not been able to secure any jobs.”
