Ramgarh: Only a few months ago, 25-year-old mechanical engineer Vineet Kumar Mahto landed his first job at the sponge iron plant in Hehal village near Barkakana in Ramgarh district. For the son of a marginal farmer from Bokaro’s Kunda village, it marked the end of a long struggle against poverty and the beginning of a better life.That dream was cut short in the explosion at the factory’s captive power plant early Saturday. Vineet and two other engineers were killed, while another employee suffered grievous burn injuries.Vineet had overcome severe financial hardship to study mechanical engineering in Mumbai. He had only recently begun earning and supporting his family, which had made years of sacrifices for his education.As news of the explosion reached Kunda, hundreds of villagers rushed to Ramgarh, hoping he had survived. Many had watched him grow from the only son of a poor farmer into a qualified engineer.His father, Nunu Mahto, 75, said he had financed Vineet’s education through farming and daily-wage work. “I somehow managed to educate him despite great hardship. He had only just begun earning and helping the family. Who will look after his wife and children now?” he asked.The only brother of five sisters, Vineet is survived by his elderly parents, wife Mamta Kumari, 22, two-year-old daughter Girisha Kumari and five-month-old son Anmol Kumar.Villagers remembered him as bright, humble and hardworking. “He had just begun settling down. The family believed their years of hardship were finally coming to an end,” villager Sukhdeo Mahto said.Outside the factory, Mamta clutched their five-month-old son and broke down repeatedly as relatives struggled to console her.
