Migrant workers crushed to death under JCB in Karnataka’s Raichur: Police
According to police, the deceased identified as Vishnu (26), Shivaram (28) and Balaram (30), all natives of Chhattisgarh, were part of a borewell drilling lorry team to dig up a new borewell in Neelavanji village
Three migrant labourers from Chhattisgarh were crushed to death by a JCB machine at Neelavanji village in Karnataka’s Raichur district on Tuesday night, police said.
According to police, the deceased identified as Vishnu (26), Shivaram (28) and Balaram (30), all natives of Chhattisgarh, were part of a borewell drilling lorry team to dig up a new borewell in Neelavanji village.
Police said the three workers were sleeping on the side of an agriculture field when the JCB driver allegedly ran over them, killing them on the spot.
“The incident occurred at around 3am. We have arrested JCB owner Balaiah and driver Basappa,” Raichur superintendent of police B Nikhil told HT. Police said their bodies were sent for postmortem and the families of the deceased have been informed.
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The accused were booked under Section 279 (rash and negligent driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Devadurga police station, said the SP.
Police said the mishap took place as the JCB had no headlight. The driver did not see the sleeping workers and ran over them, they said.
Devagurga police inspector Vanakerappa told HT that the JCB, which caused the death of the three workers, belonged to Balaiah, a civil work contractor from Raichur, who also is allegedly engaged in illegal sand mining.
The officer added that after receiving information about the alleged illegal sand mining, Devadurga Tahasildar K Y Bidari, with a team from the revenue department, raided the Doddambali sand stockyard.
He said that in the early hours of Wednesday when about a 15-member team led by Tahasildar Bidari was heading to raid the Doddambali stockyard, the miners, to avoid arrest and capture, had switched off the headlights of their vehicles. As they ran in a hurry, a JCB belonging to contractor Balaiah ran over the three labourers sleeping in the field, officer Vanakerappa said.
