KOCHI: A 65-year-old victim of a road rage incident died while under treatment in a hospital in Kochi on Thursday. Autorickshaw driver Joy P J, who lived near Aquinas College in Edakochi, is the deceased. The Palluruthy police have arrested one person, Vimal, 43, in connection with this.
The incident took place at the Edakochi Cemetery Road around 3.30 pm on Tuesday. “While crossing the narrow road, a side of Joy’s autorickshaw hit the mirror of Vimal’s motorcycle which was parked by the road. When Joy parked his autorickshaw and went to the bike to check the damage, an enraged Vimal pushed him. Joy fell and hit his head on a concrete slab,” said a police officer.
The officer said Joy fell unconscious while Vimal left the place. People who witnessed the altercation rushed Joy to a nearby hospital. Later, he was shifted to another hospital in Kochi, where he died on Thursday morning.
“There are no visible injury marks on Joy’s body. However, he suffered internal bleeding after his head hit the slab. We have arrested Vimal, who lives in the same locality as the deceased. We had initially registered a case under IPC Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide). We will alter the charge and include IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder),” said Sanju Joseph, Palluruthy SHO.
The police verified footage of CCTV cameras from houses near Cemetery Road. Joy’s body was handed over to relatives after postmortem.