New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday remanded the owner, contractor and a staffer of a factory in Mundka Industrial area, where three men died while cleaning a septic tank on Friday, to two weeks judicial custody.Marwah Printers factory in Mundka where the accident occurred. (HT Photo)The accused, identified as Suraj Marwah, the factory owner, Jayant Singh, the employee and Neeraj, the contractor, were arrested on Friday and booked under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.Police identified the deceased as Arun Singh, 38, Sandeep Paleram, 32, and Chand, 42. Police said, according to an initial probe, the factory owner had given Neeraj a ₹20,000 contract to clean the septic tank. The victims were hired to clean the tank using suction pipes and a waste loader mounted on a tractor, but were forced to clean it manually without safety equipment and refused to pay.A senior police officer, who wishes not to be named, said, “According to the probe, after pumping out the wastewater, the victims were not given the money but asked to descend into the tank to remove the waste and mud manually. We found the septic tank had not been cleaned for more than a year. The victims were promised ₹3,000 per person for the job. The rest was Neeraj’s commission”Police said the victims went inside without masks, ropes or gloves and died within minutes of entering the tank.A Delhi Fire Services official said an emergency call from the factory was received at 12.03pm on Friday about three people being trapped, and the team reached the site by 12:45pm due to traffic congestion.Vikram Singh, the deputy commissioner of police (outer), said the unit was named “Marwah Printers”, and action will be taken against all the accused involved.The families of the deceased said the workers had never cleaned the tanks manually. Narendra Singh, the elder brother of Arun Singh, alleged that the workers were initially hired to clear water. “Due to my health issues, my brother never allowed me to work. He was supporting his family and two children, as well as my family and three kids.” His family members said Arun Singh earned ₹11,000 a month.Surendra, the uncle of Sandeep Paleram, said he is survived by his wife, 10-year-old daughter, parents and a younger brother.Surendra said, “The factory owner did not even call us. Sandeep was saving to buy a house for all of us.”