Kolkata: Two more migrant labourers from Purulia, who fell victim to a road accident at Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to their injuries on late Saturday night. It took the death toll to 27 including six from Purulia.
Earlier on Saturday morning, the Bengal government was informed that four persons from Purulia were killed at the spot of the road accident in which a speeding truck, in which they were travelling, had hit a trailer at around 2.30 am. Later on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh government informed that two more persons - Swapan Rajwar and Dhirendra Mahato - also from Purulia district succumbed to their injuries.
Four people who died at the spot were Milan Badyakar, Chandan Rajwar, Ajit Mahato and Ganesh Rajwar. The minister of Paschimanchal Unnayan department Shantiram Mahato, district magistrate Rahul Majumder along with other senior officials of the district visited their houses and handed over cheques of worth Rs 2 lakh to each of their families. The state government had announced the compensation to the next of kin of each of the victims. Family members of Swapan and Dhirendra will also be receiving the cheques at the earliest.
A senior police officer said that policemen from Mafatsal, Kotshila and Joypur police stations in Purulia are returning with bodies of all six people. "Around 10.30 am on Sunday the cars had reached Kanpur and we expect that by Sunday late night the last remains of the victims will reach the district," the police officer said.
Swapan and Dhirendra were residents of Uparbadri village of Kotshila police station in Purulia. Ajit and Ganesh were also residents of the same village.
Swapan and Dhirendra used to work in a marble factory in Rajasthan. They had left their place of work to return home. But the bus in which they were travelling from Rajasthan was not allowed to cross Uttar Pradesh border. As a result, they had to start walking to reach home and finding no other way out, boarded an ill-fated trailer that met with an accident leading to the death of 27 people including six from Bengal.