Kochi: In a hit and run case, three migrant labourers engaged in Kochi Metro related works were killed and another sustained serious head injuries when a lorry mowed them down on Thursday midnight along the national highway at Muttom near Aluva. The deceased were all hailing from Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh — Bablu Mashis, 42, Umesh Bibar, 23, and Soorya Kanth, 32. Another worker, Indradutt, 22, also from UP, was seriously injured. The four were contractual workers with L&T. According to cops, the four were returning after putting up a barricade to regulate traffic along the national highway to facilitate Metro construction works.
“They were engaged in cleaning of metro pier caps and erected the barricade around midnight. Soon a speeding lorry smashed the barricade and hit them while they were walking back. Two workers — Bablu and Umesh died on the spot while the third succumbed to his injuries at hospital. The vehicle didn’t stop,” police said. Meanwhile, the Ernakulam Rural Police inspected the CCTV cameras of signals and a few shops and identified the ‘killer’ vehicle as a Gujarat-registered open Goods Carrier lorry.
“The registration number of the vehicle is ‘GJ-01-DZ-0587’. We’ve alerted police stations and also sought help from the public to identify the vehicles through media,” police said. Police lodged a case under relevant sections of the IPC against the unidentified lorry driver. The district collector has ordered to make arrangements to take the bodies back to their native land while the metro authorities said they would bear the travelling and funeral expense.
