Labourer’s body found in pond

The body of a contract labourer working in Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd Unit 2 at Mondipatti near Manapparai was found inside a pond on the plant premises on Wednesday.

Police sources said R. Kalaichelvan, 26, of Kullampatti village in Karur district, who was engaged as tractor driver, attended general duty on Tuesday morning. However, his whereabouts were not known in the evening, prompting a search within the premises including a pond.

Acting on an alert, firefighters from Manapparai searched the pond on Tuesday night but suspended it due to poor light.

Meanwhile, Sakthivel, the contractor, lodged a ‘missing’ complaint with Manapparai police.

On Wednesday morning, firefighters from Manapparai and Tiruchi stations resumed the search in the pondand retrieved Kalaichelvan’s body. The contract labourer’s death caused anxious moments inside the premises.

Kulithalai MLA E. Ramar visited the plant on learning about the labourer’s death and held discussions with the authorities. Revenue officials were also present, said the sources.

The body was sent to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchi for post-mortem. Manapparai Police registered a case under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on a complaint from the contractor.