Three men died while a fourth fell unconscious on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) after inhaling toxic gases inside a septic tank they were cleaning at a private hospital in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, said the police.

The mishap took place at Ram Krishna Care Hospital in Pachpedi Naka area where the victims entered the nearly 20-feet-deep septic tank without any proper safety gear, said a police officer.

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The incident triggered a debate on the unsafe working conditions for sanitary workers following which Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced that the government will issue directions that entering sewers without permission from the municipal body concerned or registered institutions will attract legal action.

The deceased have been identified as Anmol Manjhi (25), Govind Sendre (35), and Satyam Kumar (22), all residents of Simran City. Meanwhile, the condition of another labourer remains critical, and he is currently undergoing treatment.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) Sandeep Patel told The Hindu that the first of the three deceased entered the septic tank on the instructions of their contractor and fell unconscious. “The other two followed suit one after the other when they went inside to look for their co-worker(s). A little while later, a fourth one went who was tied to a rope and he too fell unconscious but was pulled out,” he said.

The police was in the process of filing the FIR on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) evening, he added.

Family members have alleged that not only were the working conditions unsafe but also that the bodies of the deceased were tossed into a van and hurriedly removed, denying them dignity in death.

There were also violent protests outside the hospital.

The Opposition Congress demanded a high level probe into the matter. Party spokesperson Surendra Verma said that strict action must be taken against anyone found guilty in this matter, as well as against those who attempted to conceal or cover up the incident.

“An inquiry should also be conducted to determine whether the sanitation workers involved were employed by a private contracting firm or directly by the hospital management. Furthermore, the lack of training and safety equipment must be investigated; the government must ensure that such an inhumane and unfortunate incident is never repeated,” he said.

Later on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), CM Mr Sai presided over a meeting of the State Monitoring Committee regarding the effective implementation of the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,” under the aegis of the Scheduled Castes Development Department.

Expressing deep condolences over the death of three laborers yesterday during the cleaning of a septic tank at a major private hospital in the State, Chief Minister Shri Sai directed that every possible assistance be extended to the affected families. A government official said that the CM ordered that strict action be taken, in accordance with the law, against those responsible for the incident to ensure that such unfortunate occurrences are prevented in the future.

Sonmoni Borah, Principal Secretary of the Tribal and Scheduled Castes Development Department, informed the committee that the Act also provides for penal provisions against individuals who coerce others into engaging in manual scavenging; these provisions entail imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to fifty thousand rupees, the statement added.