Jharsuguda, June 17: In a shocking incident, colleagues of a seriously ailing labourer, who were taking him to a hospital, dumped him into the Ib River late Saturday night, taking him to be dead.
Later, the co-workers returned to their temporary camp in the Bolero van in which they were taking the ailing Goutam Bhandari (47), a resident of Bankura district in West Bengal, to the hospital.
The incident came to light after the camp supervisor grew suspicious when the co-workers failed to give any satisfactory reply as to Bhandari’s whereabouts. He then alerted the police.
Meanwhile, some locals, who had spotted the labourers rushing away in the vehicle, also alerted the police, suspecting foul play.
Subsequently, the local administration with the help of police, firefighters and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) team launched a joint operation in the river and recovered the body.
The accused labourers were identified as Kajal Patra, Sanjeev Tantubai, Subrat Chaudhary and Nayan Dhar.
Bhandari was engaged as a contractual labourer in the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) plant at Banaharpali area in Jharsuguda district.
Sources said, Bhandari came down with high fever Saturday morning. The four co-workers took the company vehicle and set off with him to VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla for treatment.
However, mid-way through the journey, Bhandari’s condition deteriorated and it appeared to his colleagues that he had stopped breathing.
Suspecting that he was dead, the co-workers called their supervisor and apprised him of the situation.
Although the supervisor suggested they take Bhandari to the hospital for doctors to confirm, the four dumped him in the river while crossing a bridge and returned to the camp.
The Jharsuguda town police have detained the four labourers and launched a further probe. Bhandari’s family members have been informed and the autopsy would be conducted after their arrival, police said adding that actual cause of death would be known only after that.
PNN
