The death of an autorickshaw driver, Rajiv, 32, while he was being taken to the Kanjiramkulam police station on Sunday night after being held allegedly for drunk driving, sparked violent protests in the town on Monday with a mob damaging two government vehicles, including a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus, and throwing stones at a police party. The violence broke out when a protest was being staged at Kanjiramkulam Junction with the body of the driver.
The incident earlier saw the Home Minister issuing orders suspending Siju K.L. Nair, Sub Inspector (SI), Kanjiramkulam, for allegedly causing the mishap which ended in the death of the autorickshaw driver. Three persons, including Mr. Nair himself, were injured.
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An all-party meeting at Kanjiramkulam, convened by Sub Collector S. Karthikeyan, ended with the assurance that a special investigation team (SIT), and not the local police, would probe the incident. This would be apart from a magisterial inquiry by the District Collector.
Earlier, local political parties took over the protest and brought the body of the driver to Kanjiramkulam Junction, demanding the arrest of the SI on charges of murder. Their contention was that the police officer had chased the autorickshaw driver, and while attempting to enter the moving vehicle to stop it, had caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, resulting in the autorickshaw hitting a two-wheeler, injuring its riders, and then overturning, resulting in the death of the autorickshaw driver.
The protest saw an Excise Department jeep and a KSRTC bus, which was on police duty, also being stoned. A police party that reached the spot was attacked and seven policemen were injured, the police said.
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Mr. Karthikeyan said an unbiased enquiry, including the magisterial enquiry and the SIT probe, had been promised.
The body was finally taken for cremation around 9 p.m., he said.