Meghalaya: 14 Assam labourers die in suspected case of food poisoning

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SP Dkhar said the dead labourers were among several dozen labourers a contractor had brought from Assam for working in a road construction project. “The labourers were crammed into tin barracks. The place where they were working is about 55 kms from Khliehriat, the district headquarters,” he said.

He also said that relatives and family members of the deceased persons from Assam had already reached Khliehriat and the bodies would be handed over later on Tuesday after the necessary formalities. Ten of the deceased have been identified as Zehirul Haque, Mehboob Haque, Qasimul Haque, Inamul Haque, Sahidur Rahman, Safiqul Haque, Manjur Sheikh, Muhibul Hussain, Manirul Ali and Zehirul Islam.

Meanwhile, Debashis Barua, additional SP of Dhubri district in western Assam said the deceased hailed from two villages under Golakganj police station and were taken to work in Meghalaya through a local labour contractor. “We are examining whether the labour contractor had actually put the labourers through some contract or had taken them just like that,” additional SP Barua said.