In Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul city, a worker was allegedly raped and murdered by her supervisor in a garment factory. The local police have filed a case in this regard.
As per reports, the 25-year-old worker was working in the quality department of the apparel factory that is a part of a well-known group and used to work with a top-level brand.
She was under the direct control of the supervisor who belongs to Kanakkampatty village in Palani block Ottanchathiram taluk.
More on the incident, Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) said that the supervisor misused his power and often tried to harass the worker.
The incident took place on 1 January when the supervisor asked the worker to come to the factory. Reportedly, he picked her by car and, while taking different routes, raped her. There are also reports that he poisoned her.
It is pertinent to mention here that on 31 January, she worked in the second shift and returned late from the factory.
Her parents thought that she had gone for the work and since she did not return from the factory’s vehicle, they enquired about her from the co-workers and the factory. Finally, they lodged a police complaint at Vadamadurai station.
Notably, the deceased was very talented and was keen to pursue her post-graduation.
TTCU claimed that it did a complete fact finding of the worker’s death and prepared a report after collecting information from her parents, police and the medical team involved in the postmortem.
The union has demanded a proper enquiry into the death of the worker and is seeking justice for the victim’s family. “We demand the industry management to pay Rs. 10 lakh as compensation apart from ESI as the death is on account of the negligence of the industry management,” the union said.
It further demanded the resourcing brands to monitor the minutes of internal complaints committee (ICC) in all their resourcing companies as ICC is just a paper tiger and an eye wash in most of the textile and garment industries in the state.
Apparel Resources approached the company to know its version of the unfortunate incident. As and when we receive any response, we will update it here.
