3 held for Bahrain blaze

DUBAI: Three persons have been arrested in connection with the blaze at a Bahraini labour camp in July that left 16 Indian workers dead.

 

The Bahraini owner of the company that employed the victims and two Indian supervisors stand accused of "providing accommodation without safety", Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty said.

 

Reading from the chargesheet, the ambassador said all three had also been charged with "breach of labour and immigration laws".

 

All three were arrested and produced before the Public Prosecution on Thursday, the Gulf Daily News said on Monday, adding the company owner has been admitted to hospital after he complained of medical problems.

 

He had been out of the country at the time of the fire, but was arrested on his return to Bahrain last week. Welcoming the arrests, the ambassador said: "This shows that things are moving in the right direction. We understand that the three people have been remanded in custody for one week, to be produced again before the public prosecution on October 19."
 
Two hundred Indian survivors of the fire refused to return to work after the tragedy. However, they did so on August 22 after a deal was brokered at a meeting between Bahrain Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi and Shetty.