Daily wage worker burnt to death by factory owner in Hazaribag

Police are looking for the owner of a stone crushing unit at Hazaribag where a 40-year-old man was set on fire on Tuesday. Punno Sao’s half-burnt body was recovered from bushes near Ichak village on Wednesday. He was taken by the police to the district hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The police on Thursday said the accused, Ravindra Prasad Mehta, was reportedly in a relationship with Sao’s wife Saraswati Devi. Initially, the police suspected Sao was killed over his wife’s pending wages. But subsequent investigations unearthed a different angle.

In his statement to the police, Sao had said that Mehta, along with his three associates, set him on fire after tying him with ropes. Mehta and all three accused are absconding.

Quoting statements of family members, police said that Sao and his wife were daily wage workers. Devi was employed at Mehta’s factory for several years. The couple, who stayed with Sao’s elderly father, has three children. On Sunday, Mehta had come to the couple’s house, and asked Devi to come to the unit. This enraged Sao, and he had a heated exchange with Mehta.

Police said Sao was missing from his house since Tuesday evening. Sao’s wife had told the children that he had gone to attend a religious function nearby. On Wednesday morning, some village residents sighted Sao’s body and informed police.

Trainee IPS officer Rajiv Ranjan, in-charge of Ichak police station, said that police were conducting investigations from all possible perspectives. Ranjan also said that raids were being conducted to arrest the accused. “Complete details cannot be revealed now as it could hamper investigations, besides alerting the absconding accused.”

First Published: Apr 26, 2019 16:01 IST