Chennai: Within two weeks after a cab driver committed suicide due to alleged police harassment in the city, another cab driver threatened to commit suicide by jumping off a mobile phone tower near Tambaram on Monday night citing police harassment.
P. Imayavarman (27) is a resident of Park street in Mudichur and he owns and drives a cab. His father Perumal is employed with the electricity board. Imayavarman claimed that police head constable Kumaravel slapped him in public near Peerkankaranai after flagging his car. Further drama ensued as Imayavarman’s mother Sulochana swooned on hearing her son’s suicide attempt creating a tense situation in the neighbourhood. When police personnel including an assistant commissioner rushed to the scene to control the situation, public rounded them up and demanded answers from cops. The issue began when constable Kumaravel had flagged Imayvarman’s cab at the Manimangalam-Mudichoor Road junction around 7 pm.
When the driver got out of his vehicle, the constable told him that he was overspeeding and also chided him for not wearing seat belt. When the driver reiterated saying he was not wearing since it was the interior road, the policeman is said to have slapped him after claiming he was drunk and attempted to tease women.
The policeman also seized his driving license and mobile phone and let off the driver telling him to collect them with his father at Peerkankaranai police station. After reaching home, Imayavarman stormed out of his house and climbed a cellphone tower and threatened to commit suicide.
