FIR against contractor for labourer's death

A private contractor was booked for negligence after a 25-year-old labourer was buried alive while he was digging a trench at the Baiyappanahalli railway station on Thursday.

The deceased, Srikanth, was a native of Koppal and working for PJB Engineering, a contractor who was building a bridge at the Baiyappanahalli railway station, police said.

Based on the complaint by Yamunappa, a relative of the deceased, the Baiyappanahalli police registered an FIR against employees of PJB and booked them for criminal negligence and not providing safety gear.

A police officer said Srikanth and two men, including Yamunappa, were digging a trench to lay water pipes near the railway station when the loose earth collapsed.

As the earth caved in on Srikanth, others pulled him out and rushed him to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

In his complaint, Yamunappa said the site manager Vargheese, site engineer Senthil Kumar and the site supervisor Raju had not provided any safety gear to workers.