Alleged land dispute driver detained following farmer's death

A shovel truck driver has been detained by police after a farmer was fatally run over by the vehicle, authorities have said, with the incident allegedly following a land dispute.

Song Heyi, a farmer in Xichungang Village, Yaojia Township in Zhongmou County, was crushed to death by a shovel truck on Wednesday afternoon, said a written statement issued by the county government on Thursday.

Initial investigation by the county government showed it was an accident during construction work by the Henan Hongyi Agricultural Technology Company, according to the statement.

Further investigations are under way, it said, although the statement did not disclose the name of the detained driver.

However, the victim's brother-in-law said he was deliberately killed as he was not satisfied with the land release package offered by the company.

"The company tried to rent the 10-mu (0.67 hectare) farmland for 800 yuan (127 U.S. dollars) per mu," he said, without revealing his name.

Song did not agree with the deal, which led to his death, he said.

Details of the case went viral online after a gruesome tweet featuring a picture of a bloodied body under a shovel truck was uploaded on Thursday.

With a registered capital of 150 million yuan and engaged in agricultural tourism, the Henan Hongyi Agricultural Technology Company was founded in 2011.