U.P. migrant walking home dies allegedly of hunger

A migrant worker who had returned from Mumbai on a truck allegedly died of hunger in Kannauj while he was walking back home to Hardoi district, officials said.

The migrant worker, Vinod, and 26 others had boarded a truck from Mumbai towards U.P. on May 14.

The last time he ate proper food was on May 15, said Shailesh Kumar Singh, SDM Kannauj.

Early on Saturday, around 3 a.m., the truck carrying 27 passengers reached Kannauj. Seventeen workers belonging to Hardoi got off at the bypass. “They had barely walked for half a km when one of them died. He had been lagging behind the others,” said Mr. Singh on Sunday.

The preliminary reason behind the death as per the accounts of the relatives who came with him was hunger, hinted the official.

“During the journey, he drank water and ate biscuits but maybe he did not eat any food on the way,” said Mr. Singh.

“He didn’t get anything to eat on the way,” said Ram Kumar, the victim’s brother.