16-Year-Old Odia Minor Gets Compensation For Severed Hand

Jajpur: After putting up with the twinge of a severed hand and joblessness for a year, 16-year-old labourer Chandan Kumar Sahu, who lost his hand while working at a rice mill in Odisha’s Sankhachilla, received a compensation of Rs 9.37 lakh recently.

The compensation was awarded to Chandan after his mother filed a case in the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) court seeking justice for her son. Following the court order, Panikoili police registered a case against Anirudha Das, the owner of the rice mill.

To stay away from legal woes, the rice mill owner stepped forward and paid a compensation of Rs 9.37 lakhs to Chandan in the presence of the District Labour Officer.

The District Child Protection Committee is also planning to take an action against Das under Child Labour law for employing a minor in his rice mill.

Chandan of Sankhachilla had joined Krupalu Rice Industries Pvt Ltd as a labourer in April 2019. The mill owner had asked him to operate the milling machine without any proper training. The boy didn’t know how to operate the machine properly and met with an accident, thereby losing his right hand.

He was rushed to a local hospital and then shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for appropriate treatment. The mill owner neither gave any compensation nor any financial help to Chandan for his treatment.