Pune: Two men, both working in a jaggery processing unit in Mandavgan Farata in Shirur taluka about 78km from Pune, pushed a daily wage worker into a vat of boiling sugar cane juice on Sept 29 after a quarrel. Sarju, the victim, suffered severe burns and was pulled out by the duo. But instead of taking him to a hospital, they threw him into the Bhima River .
The incident came to light on October 3 after the body was found. The Pune Rural police arrested the duo on Friday and charged them with murder. One is a labour contractor and the other is a worker.
All three quarrelled on Sept 29 after they drank liquor, the police added. "We have arrested Shersingh Kumar (32) and Karan Thakur (28), both from Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh, before they could run away to their native place. The duo has been remanded in police custody till October 9," inspector Sandesh Kenjale of the Shirur police told TOI.
The jaggery unit owner lodged the police complaint. Kenjale said that Kumar was employed at the unit along with 15 workers. On Sept 28, the complainant found a new worker at the unit and Kumar gave his name as Sarju and said he was a temporary worker.
When the owner did not find Sarju at the unit the next day, he questioned Kumar. "Kumar told him that in the early hours of Sept 29, a drunk Sarju quarrelled with him and Thakur and during the scuffle fell into the vat and suffered burns on his hands and legs. He added that they took him to Sassoon General Hospital in Pune and Thakur sta.