Three sanitation workers died of asphyxiation during manual scavenging on Friday, the police said. Ramanagara is just 50 kms away and shares a border with the state capital Bengaluru.
According to the police the incident took place in Ramanagara town within Akkur police station limits. The deceased were identified as Manjunath (32), Manjunath (30) and Rajesh (32).
The police said the first worker died when he descended into the manhole. The two others succumbed while trying to save him.
The police said that one person, Manoj, who is an associate of a contractor named Harish, has been arrested. "In all, six persons were brought from Kamala Nagar in Bengaluru by a contractor to clean the choked manhole."
The police is searching for the contractor who had brought them from Bengaluru.
