A 52-year-old Grade II technician with the wagon and carriage department of the Railways was bludgeoned to death by four labourers late on Tuesday night near the Chandigarh railway station. Purshottam Chand was on night duty when a scuffle broke out between him and the labourers that led to his death, the police said on Wednesday.No arrest has been made so far.The incident took place around 11 pm when Purshottam and his colleague Pawan Kumar had gone to the washing line, at a kilometre’s distance from the railway station, where the four labourers were playing cards and consuming liquor. Government Railway Police (GRP) officers said the victim’s objection to this did not go down well with the accused and they confronted him. A heated exchange of words followed and the labourers — Totaram, Basant, Dharampal and Vinod — beat him up mercilessly, smashing his head with a wooden log. Seeing blood, the four fled, Pawan told the police. Pawan was also beaten up by the labourers. Purshottam was rushed to the General Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, from where he was referred to the PGI. He succumbed to his injuries at 2 am.“When we told the labourers not to drink there, they all grew violent and started beating us. They smashed his (Purushottam’s) head with a log and then fled. They hit me too with the log but I managed to save myself,” said Pawan. Purshottam had been living in a rented accommodation in Ram Darbar for the last nine years. He was from Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, where his family lives. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.“He was very serious about his work. The news of his death has shattered the entire family,” said his brother, Karamchand.Inspector, GRP, Tirath Ram said a case of murder had been registered against the four labourers and all efforts were being made to arrest them.`
