Tirupati: In a horrifying incident, two workers were allegedly killed by a tractor driver, who mowed them down after they refused to attend to work despite taking an advance. The incident took place on the Punganur-Madanapalli highway near Krishnapuram village in Madanapalle Rural, Chittoor district, on Sunday.
According to Madanapalle Rural Circle Inspector K. Ramesh, the tractor driver Chandra Naik, 30, from Peddamandyam village, owns the tractor and uses it to transport sand from the mining spots to the customers. On Sunday he paid an advance of Rs 2,000 to two workers, identified as Hari Kumar, 28, and S. Nagabushanam, 19, natives of Molakaladinne village, to do the work of filling the tractor with sand.
“When Chandra Naik asked the workers to come to the mining spot for loading sand onto the tractor, the duo refused. An altercation took place between them and during the course of exchanging heated arguments, Chandra Naik slapped Hari Kumar,” the CI said. The two labourers later left the spot in a fit of rage and waited on the outskirts of the village to retaliate. When they tried to stop Chandra Naik, he ignored them and continued on the highway. The two labourers took a bike to chase down the tractor and later obstructed Chandra Naik’s way. But Naik mowed them down and crushed them to death under his tractor and fled from the spot, the CI said.
The locals however tell another story. They say it was Chandra Naik who owed money to Hari Kumar, who worked as his tractor driver for a while. As Naik did not pay him, Hari Kumar went to demand his dues but Naik slapped him and had an argument with him. Locals also alleged that Chandra Naik intentionally killed Hari Kumar and Nagabushanam.
A murder case has been registered and police are searching for Naik.
