Migrant Labourer Killed, Body Set On Fire After Alleged Argument In Punjab

A migrant worker was brutally killed by a person allegedly following an argument while drinking alcohol in the fields at Chak Singha village in Garhshankar subdivision here, police said on Tuesday.

After the murder, the assailant threw the body into a bonfire before fleeing the scene, they said.

Migrant labourer Rampa alias Raju of Jharkhand, along with his family had been living in a room on the farmland, which belongs to a local, where he worked as a labourer.

The police said on the night of December 8, Rampa, his brother Chammu Kumar and friend Nusam Toofanu (also from Jharkhand) were having alcohol near the farm motor room and warming themselves by a bonfire made of paddy straw.

Rampa's wife Sushma and the couple's child were also present at the motor room.

Around midnight, an argument broke out between Rampa and Nusam. Despite attempts by Chammu and Sushma to intervene, the fight escalated, they said.

In a fit of rage, Nusam grabbed a sickle and allegedly attacked Rampa, striking him multiple times on the head, face, eyes, and left arm.

Rampa fell to the ground, after which Nusam allegedly dragged him and threw him into the fire, causing severe burns and eventually death, the police said, adding that Chammu and Sushma ran away from the scene with the child.

Nusam also fled the spot with the weapon, the police said.

The following morning, Chammu informed the nearby police post in this district about the incident. The police arrived at the scene, and after taking the body in its possession, sent it for postmortem, the police said.

Nusam has been arrested and charged with murder and causing disappearance of evidence of offence by the Garhshankar police here and further investigations are underway, the police said.

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