A 50-year-old labourer, Subal Mahato, was allegedly beaten to death by his employer for demanding revised wages in accordance with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in Bokaro on Saturday night. According to NREGA Commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh, Mahato, a resident of Bathua village under Chas block in Bokaro district, was one of the nine workers hired to dig a well. The project, sanctioned for 2010-11, was undertaken by Bhagirath Rajwar, a resident of the same village. The workers received wages through their post office accounts. However, although the government had revised the daily wages from Rs 99 to Rs 120 with effect from January 1 this year, Mahato and his co-workers were not paid the increased rates.