Two migrant workers from South Dinajpur died under suspicious circumstances on consecutive days while working in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.

Bipul Das, 46, and Manik Mondal, 42, were residents of Paschim Aptair village in Hili block.

Their family members have left for Vijayawada and are expected to return home with the duo’s mortal remains by Thursday night.

The families have also planned to file police complaints, seeking a probe into the deaths.

Sources said that after the announcement of election results in Bengal, around 45 persons from Paschim Aptair had travelled to Vijayawada to work as masons under an advance payment arrangement.

Last Friday, Bipul died under mysterious circumstances. Following his death, Manik, who was staying with him, became depressed and went missing on the same night.

On Saturday morning, a day after Bipul’s death, Manik’s body, which was hanging, was recovered from a room.

Other workers informed the families about the deaths but failed to explain the exact circumstances behind them.

Adding to the concern, two other workers from the same group have also gone missing and remain untraced, said sources.

The workers had got the job through a local middleman from Hili, while the labour contractor is said to be based in Malda.

The deaths have triggered panic among the remaining workers from the area, many of whom now want to return home.

Dolon Swarnakar, a resident of Paschim Aptair, has said that her brother is among those still working there. “Two workers have died, two others are missing, and the rest are calling us to bring them back home. These deaths do not appear normal, but we still do not know exactly what happened,” she said.

Saraswati Haldar, another resident, sounded equally concerned. “We got the news about Bipul’s death and learned that Manik is missing. The next day, we heard that he was suspected of having committed suicide. The deaths have naturally left us concerned about others,” said Haldar.

Others pointed out that the workers had accepted advance payments from the contractor before leaving for Vijayawada, and the contractor is unwilling to let them leave immediately.

“The families are arranging the money so that they can repay the advance and return home at the earliest,” said a villager.

Officials at the Hili police station said they were aware of the deaths. “If a formal complaint is filed, we will definitely conduct a detailed investigation,” said a police officer.