A tea estate owner and his wife were burnt alive in Tinsukia district of Assam on Wednesday after a group of agitated workers set fire to their bungalow.
The incident took place at the MKB Tea Estate in Assam's Tinsukia district at around 4.30 pm.
Hundreds of workers marched to MKB Tea Estate owner Mridul Bhattacharya's bungalow and allegedly torched the building. Police recovered two bodies from one part of the burnt house.
"While four persons have been reported missing, two bodies burnt beyond recognition are suspected to be that of Bhattacharyya and his wife Rita. The manager of the tea garden and his wife were also in the bungalow when the mob set it on fire, but their whereabouts are not known," Indian Express quoted deputy commissioner S S Meenakshi Sundaram as saying.
According to the police, the incident occurred after Bhattacharya served notice to a few workers asking them to vacate their quarters. When the workers refused, Bhattacharya called the police who took them into custody.
Following the arrest, a group of agitated workers assembled and set the bungalow on fire. They also burnt two cars belonging to Bhattacharya.
After the incident, security around the tea garden was beefed up and Inspector General of Police (law and order) SN Singh was sent there to assess the situation, NDTV reported.
"This is an unfortunate incident. There was some labour trouble in the tea garden area, we are investigating," said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
