CHENNAI: Cab driver R. Manikandan, who attempted to commit suicide by immolating self near Thiruvanmiyur condemning police excess, succumbed to his injuries at the city government hospital, on Friday, two days after the incident.
The 23-year-old R. Manikandan, who resided in Tambaram, had a tiff with the traffic police on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, when the police stopped him for not fastening his seat belt, on Wednesday. Although Manikandan paid the fine imposed on him, he reportedly filmed police excess on other motorists.
“Despite utmost care given to Manikandan in hospital, he had suffered sudden fever and breathing ailments on Friday morning and died at 11.20 am”, a police source said.
According to onlookers, the police had assaulted Manikandan and used derogatory words on women in his household. Humiliated by the police assault in full public view, Manikandan set himself ablaze at the spot, where he was insulted.
However, police and onlookers rescued him and had sent him to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, he had suffered 59 per cent burns in his torso. According to the doctors, 40 per cent burns injury itself is fatal, but Manikandan had 59 per cent and struggled for life for 2 days before breathing his last.
With the only breadwinner lost, Tirunelveli based family had sought severe action against the police personnel involved in the incident and they submitted a petition to the city police commissioner reiterating the same.
Amid cab driver Manikandan’s death creating an uproar in the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, the IV Metropolitan Magistrate (Egmore) B.C. Gopinath initiated a magisterial inquiry into the death.
Meanwhile, city police commissioner A.K. Viswanathan on Friday morning suspended sub-inspector Thamaraiselvan for allegedly assaulting Manikandan. “Departmental action has been initiated against other, and action will be taken,” a police source said. However, criminal cases have not been registered against the police personnel until Friday night.
Knowing about the death of Manikandan, other cab drivers in the city gathered at the Kilpauk government hospital and staged a protest inside and outside of the hospital thus blocking EVR Periyar Road.
Meanwhile, IV Metropolitan Magistrate B.C. Gopinath began a magisterial inquiry at the hospital. According to a police source, Gopinath first questioned the doctors who unsuccessfully treated Manikandan.
When Gopinath asked Manikandan’s mother Vasantha and other members of the family to co-operate and answer a few questions, they first opposed and subsequently heeded.
Vasantha in tears told the mediapersons that police should arrest all the four traffic police involved in the incident and depose them from their job. “Government should provide employment to one of the family members,” she demanded.
Due to the tension prevailing on the hospital premises, the autopsy had not been conducted until evening. Even after the post-mortem, relatives and cab drivers refused to accept the body.
The situation further worsened when heated arguments arose between cadres of Puthiya Tamilagam party and cab drivers as the former reportedly implored relatives to accept his body, which the cab drives opposed to.
However, after a daylong tension and uproar, Manikandan’s relatives accepted his body and took it to Tirunelveli to perform last rites.
