Factory door was locked from outside, allege workers

Sitting inside Sultanpuri police station, nearly 30 people working in the shoe manufacturing factory, waited for the police proceedings on Monday afternoon.

The factory gate was locked from outside and we struggled to get out of the building, they alleged.

“Are we criminals or labourers?” said Mohd Hussain (20), brother of deceased Mohd Shamu.

The owner would lock the small gate followed by the main gate from outside every night around 9 p.m., they said.

Mr. Hussain, who has been working at the factory for the past three years, said all of them decided to get out from the main gate but later realised that it was locked. Following this, they used the front balcony on the third floor and a small window at the rear of the building.

Waris, the brother of Mahbub and Ayub who died in the blaze, recalled that all of them were sleeping on the first, second and third floors when they heard people shouting about the fire.

“The fire broke out on the ground floor and within minutes, the flames reached first floor. The entire premise was filled with black fumes. Everyone ran for their lives,” he said.

Mr. Waris said the four who were killed were in deep sleep and all of them tried to wake them up. “I nudged them but they did not get up. They might have become unconscious because of the fumes,” he said.

‘Never cooked inside’

Talking about the possible reason of fire, the workers claimed that they never used to cook in the factory but there were over 50 machines in the premises which ran on electricity. They suspect a short circuit could have led to the blaze. “We used to bring three meals from outside,” Mr. Waris said.

The workers, mostly from Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi and Agra, received a salary of ₹6,000-₹7,000 per month and would work for nearly 15 hours a day. “We started around 9 a.m. and worked till about 1 a.m. Maalik used to come in two shifts, 9 a.m. to 2p.m. and then 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.,” said another worker Ali Mohd (24).

The workers said that many such factories are running in the residential area and alleged that most of them are running illegally without any licence. “Most have workers in the age group of 15-18 years. We don’t get any safety gear and I am not sure if there were any fire extinguishers in the factory. Even if there were, none of us knows how to use them,” said another worker.