CHENNAI: A 23-year-old Ola cab driver torched himself after he was assaulted by the police for allegedly taking a video of cops being lax to the traffic chaos on the Old Mahabalipuram Road on Wednesday.
R Manikandan, who was driving towards Taramani to pick up a customer, was stopped by the police and fined for not wearing seat belt and uniform.
After paying fine, Manikandan was made to wait for 45 minutes and as a result, the customer cancelled his trip. Following this, Manikandan started shooting videos of the chaotic traffic on the Old Mahabalipuram Road through his mobile phone.
The cops sensing something foul asked him to stop shooting videos and leave the place. Manikandan then retired to his car and then again started shooting videos from his car and forwarding them to his friends.
Later, he came out of the car and once again shot videos. This angered one of the cops, who took him to a police booth, according to Suresh, who received the video clip from Manikandan.
The policemen on duty identified as Vijaya Kumar and Thamarai Selvan assaulted him, used abusive words and seized his licence and car, said Venkatesan, owner of the car.
Afterwards, a vexed Manikandan walked to the nearest petrol bunk, brought a bottle of petrol and immolated himself at the traffic junction at around 2 pm.
A large number of people gathered and traffic on the busy stretch was affected for more than one hour. Manikandan suffered burns after passers-by doused the fire. The traffic policemen, sensing trouble, left the spot immediately.
Manikandan, who was writhing in pain, informed passers-by why he took the extreme step. His statement was recorded by people and immediately circulated in the social media. The cab driver, who was staying with his elder sister Jagadeeswari’s family in Tambaram, was later rushed to the Kilpauk Medical Hospital at 3.50 pm.
By that time, the videos went viral on social media, resulting in senior police officers, including Chennai City Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan, rushing to the hospital.
Later addressing the media, the Police Commissioner said action would be taken against the four policemen involved in the incident after a thorough investigation. The policemen have been identified and departmental enquiry launched. Sub-Inspector Thamarai Selvan has been transferred to the vacancy reserve, said a senior traffic police officer.
Manikandan, a native of Sankarankoil in Tirunelveli, has been a cab driver for Ola and Uber for the past three years.
Dean of Kilpauk Dr P Vasanthimani told Express that Manikandan suffered 59 pc burns as almost all of his body above the hip was burnt. Necessary treatment is given to the victim, she confirmed.
“This is the second incident within a week. In the earlier incident, another cab driver S Muthukumar committed suicide by jumping in front of the running train” said Boopathy, state secretary of a cab drivers union.