TIRUNELVELI: Three dalit workers, who were demolishing a shopping complex owned by the Sengottai municipality, were killed in a roof collapse on Saturday.
Police said that a shopping complex, housing three shops on the ground floor and three more on the first floor located next to the civic body’s office was in a dilapidated condition. So, the municipality decided to raze it down.
The contract to demolish the old structure was granted to one Nagoor. To facilitate the work, the three shops on the ground floor were shut while the contractor and seven labourers demolished the top floor.
On Saturday, when the workers were on the job, suddenly the roof collapsed killing three Dalit workers, Ganapathy, Raj and Muthukumar of Kadiravan Colony, Sengottai, on the spot.
On information, Fire and Rescue Service personnel from Sengottai and Tenkasi and a police team rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies. When the news broke, friends and relatives staged road-roko at three places demanding compensation and government job for one member of the family of the victims. The other four workers, Raja, Saravanakumar, Pradeep and Saravanan, escaped unhurt in the tragedy.