JAJPUR: Mystery shrouds the death of a labour contractor whose body was found hanging from a banyan tree behind a private rice mill in Dhanapur village under Korei police limits here on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as 47-year-old man Sridhar Barik, a resident of Dhanpur.
Sources said Sridhar reportedly worked as a labour contractor at Ashirbad Agro Production Pvt ltd, a rice mill located in Dhanapur for the past couple of years. He used to supply labourers to the rice mill on contract.
Like every day, Barik came to the mill on Tuesday but did not return home till late in the night. Worried family members tried to contact him but calls to his mobile phone went unanswered. Subsequently, a search was launched but Sridhar could not be traced. On Wednesday morning, some locals spotted his body hanging from the tree behind the rice mill and informed the villagers.
Sridhar’s father Natabar Barik alleged that his son was killed by the rice mill owner. “Sridhar used to supply labourers to the mill for the past couple of years. He had outstanding payments due from the mill management. He was repeatedly asking the mill authorities for his pending dues, but the latter were not paying him the money. The rice mill owner has killed my son,” he claimed.
When the news of Sridhar’s death spread, tension flared up in the area as villagers of Dhanpur blocked the Korei-Panikoili road demanding `50 lakh compensation from the rice mill management for the bereaved family. They also demanded a job in the mill for one of Sridhar’s family members.
On being informed, Korei police reached the spot and held discussion with the irate villagers following which the road blockade was lifted. Sridhar’s body was seized for postmortem. Police said so far, no complaint has been received from the deceased’s family. The exact cause of death would be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives. Further investigation is underway.