KOZHIKODE: An auto driver is battling for his life at the Medical College Hospital here after he tried to commit suicide on Sunday following torture allegedly by CPM men at Elathur.
The police on Thursday registered cases against 10 CPM men, including CITU leaders O.K. Sreelesh and Shaiju Kovath, who beat up the driver, Nalonnukandi Rajesh, 32, of Elathur.
The drivers, affiliated to the CITU, had prevented him from parking his new autorickshaw in the auto stand at Elathur. Rajesh, who purchased the vehicle two weeks back with a bank loan, had taken the permit for the auto stand.
A group of auto drivers assaulted him the other day and threatened that his ailing wife would be killed.
Rajesh, who attempted self-immolation, suffered 70 percent burns, but his condition is not critical, according to hospital authorities. Rajesh and his relatives have demanded an investigation by a different agency, as the policemen were scared of the CPM leaders.
Rajesh in his statement to the district magistrate described the incidents that forced him to attempt suicide.
