3 migrant workers from J'khand found dead near railway track

Palakkad (Kerala): Three migrant workers from Jharkhand were found dead near the railway track at Kanjikode late on Monday night, in a suspected case of train runover.

The incident occurred between Kanjikode and Palakkad stations around 9 to 10 pm. The three are contract workers engaged in the construction work of the IIT campus at Kanjikode, work for which began hardly one-and-half-months ago.

Palakkad District Collector D Balamurli said the three were missing since last afternoon and their bodies found near the railway track have been identified. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

The three workers had recently come to Palakkad, the Collector added.

Enraged over the incident, a few other workers had refused to hand over one of the bodies to police and shifted the remains to the campus, demanding compensation. They also allegedly indulged in rioting.

It was only on Tuesday morning after the district labour officer, other officials and police held talks with the protesting workers, did they allow the body to be shifted to the hospital.

"The workers refused to hand over one of the bodies, damaged a private vehicle and also caused minor injuries to a policeman," Palakkad SP G Siva Vikram said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and the exact cause of death will be known only after the report comes, the SP said.

Meanwhile, Railway sources from Palakkad said the railway control room had not informed of any runover deaths on Monday night.

A railway engine on monsoon track patrolling had left the Palakkad station at 7.55 pm and returned by 10 pm and did find any unusual incident on both the tracks, the sources said.

A goods train carrying foodgrains had also crossed the track and the loco pilot had also not informed about any runover incident, Railways said.

With agency inputs