bhopal

Updated: Sep 21, 2015 18:22 IST

An apparently drunk man who fell into a pit was buried alive when road construction workers failed to spot him in the dark and built over him with sand and boulders in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Monday.



The 45-year-old was found buried at the road construction site in remote Salaiya village, officials said.

Construction work was going on during Friday night when the man, identified as Latori Burman, is suspected to have fallen into the pit in a drunken state. At the time, a dumper was unloading sand and boulders nearby.

Watch:

Man buried alive after accidentally slipping into pothole in MP

Burman apparently got stuck beneath the sand and boulders, according to an investigation at the site. Police suspect the sand and boulders were spread by an earth moving machine and the site was levelled by a road roller.

Police are waiting for the report of an autopsy to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Police found out about Burman’s death when residents of Salaiya noticed bloodstains and the man’s shirt on the surface of the road on Saturday and informed officials.

Burman apparently fell into the pit while returning from Kuwa village, where he had gone with his wife to celebrate a religious function. He left his wife at her maternal house and returned to Salaiya.

Katni’s additional superintendent of police Yashpal Singh Rajput said the drivers of the earth moving machine and road roller had been arrested. He said they were booked under section 304(A) of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to causing death through a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide.