An elderly autorickshaw driver was set ablaze inside his vehicle in Aminjikarai, on Thursday. The police arrested a 45-year-old woman, the driver’s former partner, in connection with the case.
Pachayappan (60), a resident of Mehta Nagar, Aminjikarai, was an alcoholic and lived apart from his family members. He drove hired autorickshaws and used the income to support his drinking habit.
Around 12.15 a.m. on Thursday, residents found the autorickshaw, inside which Pachayappan was fast asleep, ablaze. They extinguished the flames and rushed him to hospital but he passed away in the morning. After investigation, the Aminjikarai police arrested Mallika (45), a resident of Ayyavoo Street, who had been in a relationship with Pachayappan. After they split up, he harassed her repeatedly, and she might have set his autorickshaw on fire as an act of revenge, the police said.