Migrant workers' death: Himanta to raise matter with Karnataka CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday condoled the death of four migrant workers from the northeastern state near Bengaluru and said he would raise the matter with his Karnataka counterpart. Sarma said the Assam government will also coordinate with Karnataka for bringing home the bodies of the four youths. Four migrant labourers from Assam – identified as Jayant Simte, Nirendranath Taid, Doctor Taid, and Dhananjay Taid – were found dead at their rented accommodation in Sulibele area in Hoskote taluk in a suspected case of suffocation, police said on Saturday. A preliminary investigation revealed that the deaths were allegedly caused by suffocation due to carbon monoxide accumulation while they were cooking rice on a stove on Friday night, a senior police officer said. ''We received this sad news in the morning... I have asked Assam Police to get in touch with Bengaluru Police and enquire about the investigation. We will also coordinate with them for bringing back the mortal remains,'' Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme at Naoboicha in Lakhimpur district. Sarma said that he will speak with his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah later in the day regarding the matter. Three of the deceased hailed from Namoni Borkhamukh village and the other was from Salmora village of Lakhimpur district. Villagers gathered at the residences of the youths, who were in their twenties, consoling the family members who were in a state of shock after receiving the news. ''The families received phone calls from another local youth working there around 11 pm yesterday. They were told that the four were together in the room they shared and were found dead inside it,'' a resident of Namoni Borkhamukh said. The youths were in touch with their families till around 3 pm of Friday and they sounded normal when they spoke over the phone, the villager added. ''We will wait for the findings of the post-mortem examination. Family members of the deceased are in contact with the police here,'' he added.