FAISALABAD: Sahianwala police took a Chinese engineer into custody on charges of pushing a worker into a furnace following a row at a factory in industrial area here on Wednesday.

The worker has been hospitalised with 40 per cent burns.

Following the alleged incident, Chinese engineers and workers exchanged words. The workers staged a protest demonstration against the Chinese engineers and demanded registration of a case against the suspect.

The workers also called police demanding arrest of the suspect. Otherwise, they threatened to go on strike for an indefinite period.

Some of the agitating workers told reporters that behaviour of the Chinese nationals working at the factory was harsh towards them. They complained that nobody listened to their complaints against the foreigners who were given protocol by police and other government officials.

They alleged that following exchange of words, the Chinese engineer deliberately pushed a worker, Shehroz, into a three-foot deep furnace. He was immediately rescued by some of his colleagues working nearby. Shehroz, who suffered burns, was shifted to hospital.

They said now the police were trying to hush-up the issue and pressurising by pressing Shehroz for giving statement that he had accidentally fallen into the furnace.

Madina Division SP Tahir Maqsood said the incident occurred at a battery manufacturing unit where reportedly a worker and his Chinese supervisor exchanged words after remote control of a machine went missing.

He said the workers were alleging that the supervisor pushed their colleague into a furnace intentionally, while the foreigner claimed that it was an accident. The worker, according to doctors, suffered 40 per cent burns, he added.

The SP said the matter was being probed into and would be decided on merit.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2019