NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A drunken man in India died after he fell into a hole and construction workers built a road over him, the police said on Monday (Sept 21).

Police in the district of Katni in Madhya Pradesh state in central India said the 45-year-old was returning home last Friday (Sept 18)evening when he fell into the hole.

Labourers then filled the hole with molten tar and used a heavy roller to flatten the surface.

Locals later spotted the man's shirt and he was pulled out of the newly laid road dead on Monday, the police said.

"His body has been sent for a post mortem and further investigation is in process," sub-inspector N.P. Chaudhary told Reuters TV.

The man had gone to a village fair and was heading home after visiting a liquor shop, the Times of India said.

A driver and a road worker have been arrested, the newspaper said.