Among Serum Institute fire victims, 19-year-old man was on first job

Mahendra Ingle was an electrical engineer; Ramashankar Harijan was on an insulation job at the site; Bipin Saroj was on an insulation job at the site

Ramashankar Harijan, 19, was the youngest amongst the five men who lost their lives in a fire on the premises of Serum Institute of India, Pune, on January 21. Harijan and Bipin Saroj, 21, hailed from Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh and worked at Singh Insulation, a Pimpri-based sub-contractor. The other victims were electrical engineer Mahesh Ingle, 30, Pratik Paste, 21, an inverter installation worker from Pune, and Sushilkumar Pande, 26, an electrical supervisor, of Jogia village in Saran district of Bihar.

Rajendra Singh, proprietor of M/S Singh Insulation, said this was the first accident involving his workers in 35 years.

"Two freshers, who were not even two months old in the company, have succumbed in the accident, leaving my staff and me in shock." Harijan and Saroj were school dropouts and had been trained for the job at SII, said Singh.

Pratik Paste worked for a UPS battery manufacturer and was a student; Sushilkumar Pande worked as an electrical supervisor. He had come to Pune only on Dec 25

"We were allotted a sub-contract for ‘insulation' work by a larger contractor hired by SII for their new plant where the incident happened.

The contractor had sublet the entire work to various sub-contractors. Our work [insulation] was almost done and only the finishing touches remained."

Singh said it would be difficult to presume the cause of the fire, stressing that his men had no role in it. "At the time, other labourers at the site were climbing the stairs to go to their respective floors after lunch. They rushed outside the building and escaped unhurt. But the five, who were in proximity to the fire, were not so lucky."

Harijan and Saroj had been provided with accommodation, food and travel expenses. "I have 17 workers in my company and I treat them like my extended family. We would also pay a monthly salary of Rs 10,500, after deducting overhead expenses," said Singh. All work at SII has come to a halt, he said.

The fire on SII premises was far from its COVID vaccine unit

The proprietor said his workers had insurance cover. "The main contractor has insured all the sub-contract workers, and we have already submitted the claim documents. Also, the Serum Institute of India's announcement of Rs 25 lakh for kin of each of the victims is awaited. I have paid towards transporting the bodies by road and other expenses en route," he added.

‘Family dependent on him'

Of the other victims, Mahesh Ingle and Pratik Paste worked for a UPS inverter battery manufacturing company in Pune. According to Yogesh Ghanekar, uncle of Paste, who was pursuing third year electronics and telecommunication at a private college on Sinhgad Road, had been with the company for the last one-and-a-half years and was paid Rs 12,000 monthly.

Ghanekar told mid-day, "The financial condition of Pratik's family was not good. Their only sources of income were a small tea stall that his father would run and Pratik's salary. He has a younger sister who is studying." On that morning, Ghanekar recalled, Paste left home at 11 am and headed to SII along with engineer Ingle with a UPS battery. "We do not know what happened next. I got a call from his mother in the afternoon, saying Pratik had met with an accident. I thought it might have been a road mishap, but around 9 pm, it was confirmed that he was among the five who died in the Serum Institute fire."

The relative said they were yet to receive any compensation. "We were all in a state of shock and mourning. We will now approach the authorities concerned and follow up," said Ghanekar.

‘Came to Pune on Dec 25'

Anurag Upadhyay, a friend of fifth victim Sushilkumar Pande, said the electrical supervisor had come to Pune only on December 25 and joined a sub-contractor in the first week of January. "I could not attend his funeral as I was occupied with my work here. I sent two of our villagers with his body to Bihar," said the distraught friend.

National Disaster relief Force was on standby

Anupam Srivastav, Pune Commandant of National Disaster Response Force, said their team was called as a standby around 3.30 pm. "The fire broke out in an under-construction building on SII campus, which was almost one and a half kilometer away from the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing building." Srivastav said the fire brigade brought the blaze under control, while his team remained on alert.

Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta said, "We are probing the case from all angles and are awaiting fire / forensic reports to ascertain the exact cause of the fire." So far, the police have registered an accidental death case under Section 174 of CRPC.