Four workers held for killing contractor over wage dispute in Sikkim

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 took place on Friday evening at Dentam Tar. Both the victim and the accused are natives of West Bengal, officials said.
The deceased, 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 altercation escalated into a physical scuffle, during which one of the accused allegedly struck Mandal on the head with an iron hammer, leading to his death,” the SP said.
After 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 apprehended all four.
Further investigation is underway.