UP: Worker sets arm on fire outside NTPC in Gr Noida, alleges not paid by contractor for 6 months

A 32-year-old contractual worker set his arm on fire outside the state-run NTPC in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida on Thursday, alleging that he was not paid his salary due for six months, including the lockdown period, by the contractor, police said.

A 32-year-old contractual worker set his arm on fire outside the state-run NTPC in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida on Thursday, alleging that he was not paid his salary due for six months, including the lockdown period, by the contractor, police said. However, a spokesperson for the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) said the worker was hired by a third-party contractor for some work and not by it.

"The NTPC has nothing to do with the matter, which was between the contractor and the worker. Only the work was being done in the campus," the spokesperson told PTI. Officials from the HR department of the NTPC, located in Dadri area, had alerted the police around 12 pm about the worker setting his hand on fire after pouring some oil on it outside the gate number 2 of its campus, officials said.

The worker, identified as Rajesh, hails from Solana village in adjoining Hapur district, they said. "There was a dispute regarding six months' payment of the worker because of which he said he took the step. He was immediately rushed to a hospital and given treatment after which he got discharged. He is fine now," Jarcha police station officer Anil Kumar said.

Rajesh claimed that his salary for the last six months was due. He earned Rs 10,000 a month but has been "cheated" by the contractors and the NTPC, according to a written complaint he gave to police. "I was not paid during the lockdown (imposed due the COVID-19 outbreak in March) period, which has put my family in difficulty due to financial crisis," he stated. The police said they are probing the matter and would verify the worker's claims, while the NTPC has also initiated an internal inquiry into the episode.