Two teenage guest labourers sleeping under a stationary bus at Kunthipuzha Ground at Mannarkkad here were crushed to death early on Sunday.
The driver told the police that he had started the vehicle for the day’s operation around 5 a.m. without realising that the labourers were sleeping underneath the vehicle.
The police identified the victims as Chhattisgarh natives Belly Shourie, 18, and Suresh Kauda, 16. Their friend Ragesh, 20, who was also sleeping under the bus, was seriously injured. He has been admitted to a local government hospital.
The police said the three men were involved in the construction of a borewell.
CCTV visuals of the incident were retrieved from a nearby shop by the police.
The driver was seen switching on the lights inside the bus and then the tail lamp. He then reversed the bus.
Driver arrested
The driver was arrested under Section 304(a) — causing death by negligence. The borewell contractor had arranged accommodation for the workers, but they preferred to sleep under the bus owing to the heat, the police said.
