Four construction workers, including a minor, were arrested in Sikkim’s Gyalshing district for allegedly killing their contractor with a hammer following a dispute over unpaid wages, police said on January 24.
The incident occurred on Friday evening at Dentam Tar. Both the deceased and the accused are natives of West Bengal, officials confirmed.
The victim, identified as Rajiv Mandal (27), a resident of Raiganj in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district, was working as a contractor at a construction site in the area. The four accused were employed under him as masons and carpenters.
According to Superintendent of Police Tshering Sherpa, the contractor and the workers were drinking and having dinner at their rented accommodation when an argument broke out over payment of wages.
“The verbal dispute soon escalated into a physical altercation, during which one of the accused allegedly hit Mandal on the head with an iron hammer, resulting in his death,” the SP said.
Following the incident, the accused allegedly hired a vehicle and attempted to flee the area. Acting on a tip-off, police intercepted the vehicle at Legship and arrested all four occupants.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing.