Bhubaneswar Airport Mishap: Odisha Rights Panel Asks Contractor To Pay Compensation To Victims

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Tuesday directed Dillip Construction Pvt Ltd to provide Rs 2.5 lakh as interim compensation to the next of the kin of the deceased, Antaryami Guru, in the roof collapse incident at Biju Patnaik International Airport.

The company has been asked to provide an assistance of Rs 50,000 to the injured, identified as Nabakishore Swain.

Hearing a petition filed by Lalatendu Das, the court asked the construction firm to positively pay the compensation by February 11.

The airport authorities have to make the payment if the contractor failed to do so and recover the said amount from him, the order added.

The OHRC also asked the complainant to implead the airport authorities as a party in the case.

Guru was killed and Swain injured when the roof of the under-construction link building between Terminal-1 and Terminal-2 at the airport collapsed on the night of January 24.

The following day, the Commissionerate Police arrested managing director of a construction company Dillip Khatei, AAI General Manager Ashish Sarkar and two civil engineers, Abhilash Sarkar and Goutam Ray, for alleged dereliction of duty.

The incident had taken place soon after the roof construction was completed.

Meanwhile, a team of AAI also investigated the link building roof collapse incident on Sunday.