The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of three workers and injuries to two others after they allegedly inhaled toxic fumes while manually cleaning a chemical disposal tank inside a hand tools factory on RK Road in Ludhiana district.According to NHRC the workers were hired by the factory management to clean a sewage system used for disposing of chemical waste. (HT File)The commission has issued notices to the Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha and Ludhiana police commissioner Swapan Sharma, directing them to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The report is expected to include the status of the police investigation, the condition of the injured workers and details of compensation, if any, announced by the government.According to NHRC, the workers were hired by the factory management to clean a sewage system used for disposing of chemical waste. They allegedly entered the sewer line without any safety equipment and were exposed to toxic fumes.The commission observed that if the contents of the media report were true, they raised serious issues of human rights violations, warranting intervention.As per the incident reported on June 1, three workers died on the spot, while two others assisting in the operation lost consciousness and were rushed to hospital for treatment. The Moti Nagar police station had lodged an FIR against the factory owner under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. However, no arrest has been made even five days after the mishap.