KOCHI: Actor Vinayakan’s elder brother Vikraman has alleged that his autorickshaw was seized by Ernakulam Traffic West Police for a minor offence on Tuesday and that the police were taking revenge on his family. However, police said that the autorickshaw was seized after Vikraman refused to accept the challan issued for illegal parking and operating autorickshaw in Kochi city limits without a permit.
Vikraman said that his autorickshaw has a permit to operate at Vallarpadam in Mulavukkad panchayat. According to him, he halted his autorickshaw near MG Road Metro Station at 11.25 am to drop passengers. As the passengers got out, two police officers approached him and asked whether he was the brother of actor Vinayakan. Later, they seized the autorickshaw saying that the vehicle will remain at the police station for 15 days. He claimed that the police action was out of revenge towards his brother. He said that he bought autorickshaw after availing a loan and it was his sole source of income.
However, police rejected the charges. According to the police, a patrolling team found that four autorickshaws parked illegally near MG Road Metro Station were causing traffic congestion on the stretch. Traffic challans were issued to all four autorickshaw drivers, including Vikraman, without knowing that he is the brother of actor Vinayakan. Though the other three drivers received the challan, Vikraman misbehaved with police officials threatening them with dire consequences. Following this, the police officials took the vehicle into custody and moved it to the police station.