Justin’s Father Attempts Suicide in Protest Against Cops

Hyderabad: Police on Thursday barricaded the stretch leading to the pharma factory of Sigachi Industries after Ramdas, the father of a 20-year-old Justine, attempted suicide in protest against security agencies refusing to let him enter the blast site to search for his son, who remained untraceable for the last four days.

Relatives of several workers, who were at the factory during the Monday explosion, have been coming to the blast site in the hope of finding out about their family members. However, the police refused to allow both the relatives of the victims as well as media personnel to enter the pharma factory, asking them to enquire with hospital officials about the missing persons.

Ramdas, who came with other family members, got furious with the police denying him access to the blast site and attempted suicide in the presence of Sigachi staff and police by hitting his head with a stone.

Ramdas, a native of Bidar in Karnataka, is a resident of Beeramguda in Hyderabad. His son Justin joined Sigachi’s pharma unit at Pashamylaram in Sangareddy district just a few days ago. Two days after he joined the company, a fire accident occurred at the dryer unit, killing around 40 people and injuring around 35. Several people, including Justin, are reported to be missing, giving anxious moments to their family members.

“Beerappa, who helped Justine to get a job at Sigachi, suffered 90 per cent burn injuries in the mishap,” Ramdas told media persons here.

Staff at the mortuary has been collecting samples from the family members of workers — who were missing — for DNA tests to identify their bodies. The officials collected more samples and sent them to a forensic lab in Hyderabad for testing.

While shifting debris from the blast site, the officials found burnt organs. Forensic team collected those organs and shifted to the lab for DNA tests for identification.