[2][3][4] He was a Valmiki worker in a cartridge manufacturing unit of British East India Company.
[5] According to historical narratives, Matadin was a worker in a Cartridge manufacturing unit of East India Company.
He was employed there as during those times working with leathers and skin of dead animals was considered as the occupation of low castes.
One day Mangal Pandey, a soldier in the company's service was asked for water by Matadin but due to age old belief of touching a low caste person as "polluting", he refused.
This is because he was the person who made Mangal Pandey aware of the fact that their religious sentiments are being hurt knowingly or unknowingly by the British.