A factory worker in Howrah died after being trapped in a machine that turned his body into pulp on Sunday afternoon.

Police said the right hand of Madhusudan Das, 47, got trapped in the machine. Within seconds, the body was dragged inside and got smashed between the rolling wheels.

By time Das’s colleagues rushed to the spot, the body was mangled beyond recognition.

“The clothes and statements of co-workers helped us identify the victim,” said a police officer. “Das, a resident of Orissa, had joined the mill five years ago.”

This was the third death in recent months in the industrial zone of Howrah that houses more than 100 units. A worker had died after an iron beam fell on his head and another was crushed by a machine in a jute mill.

Witnesses told the police that Das was loading raw material into the machine when the mishap occurred. “Suddenly, we heard his screams and saw him being sucked into the giant rolling wheels. Everything happened so fast that we could not rescue him,” a worker told officers of Liluah police station.

The police are trying to verify whether Das fell on the machine from atop a ladder or not. “We are checking the work list to find out exactly what Das was doing,” said an officer of Liluah police station.

Workers, however, alleged that the management is not bothered about their safety. “The administration is trying to hide loopholes and present the death as a mere accident. We work in hazardous condition and the management is not taking any step to improve the situation,” said a worker, who did not want to be named.

“Das used to stay at the mill quarters. We are trying to find out how he got trapped in the machine and whether there was any breach of safety rules,” said Niraj Kumar Singh, the superintendent of police, Howrah.

The workers alleged that there is hardly any safety check on the industrial units in the district.