Three labourers of an illegal brick kiln, who were sleeping in a tent within the factory compound, were found dead on Friday morning at Tetulmari in Dhanbad with police suspecting that they may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Police have sent the bodies of the labourers, all from Purulia in Bengal, for post-mortem and are investigating the factory operations as they believe it was being run illegally.

Talking to the media, Katras inspector, Bhikari Ram said, “The trio was working in the factory at Rengunitand for the last several months. They used to live in a tent within the factory compound,” said Katras police inspector Bhikari Ram.

“They used to cook their meals in the tent during the night and had kept a coke oven inside. It seems they died due asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide emanating from the factory,” he said, but added that a final conclusion could be reached only after the post-mortem report was made available to police.

The incident came to light at 9am on Friday when the factory owner, Sonu Sao, went to check on the three -- Mithun Bhumij, Prantosh Bhumij and Pradip Mura -- since they had not reported for work.

He found them dead in the tent where they lived and immediately informed Tetulmari police over the phone. Soon, a joint team of Tetulmari and Katras police reached the site. Policemen retrieved the bodies and sent them for post-mortem to Sahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College.

“We will also carry out an investigation to find out if the factory was operating illegally and take appropriate action,” said Ram, adding that prima facie, it seemed, it was an illegal unit.

OC of Tetulmari police station Manish Kumar said they had informed the families of the trio. “They will be reaching the site by the evening and will lodge a case as per the statement of family members after the arrival of the postmortem report,” he said.