KOZHIKODE: A man who was admitted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital with severe burns after he attempted self-immolation following an assault by CPM activists succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. Rajesh, 42, of SK Bazaar in Elathur, who attempted suicide on September 15, breathed his last at midnight.
Rajesh had given his statement to the magistrate that he tried to kill himself after he was attacked by local CPM leaders and autorickshaw drivers, who are CITU members, at Elathur auto stand. The probe team arrested two more persons identified as Murali and Gaddafi, both hailing from Elathur, in connection with the case on Sunday. Gaddafi, an autorickshaw driver and CITU Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union president, was nabbed from a KSRTC bus when he was travelling to Wayanad. O K Srilesh and Shyju Kavoth, local CPM leaders, who were arrested by the police on Friday are under judicial custody.
According to the police, Rajesh, who earned a living by collecting mussels before, bought an autorickshaw recently after taking a bank loan. In his statement, Rajesh said the accused persons tried to stop him from driving the autorickshaw. He said they attacked him when he reached the auto stand and did not allow him to park his vehicle there. They also threatened to kill his ailing wife. He also alleged that they assaulted him on the road on multiple occasions.
Following his death, the police have charged the accused under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
“We are yet to receive the post-mortem report. Further details cannot be revealed now,” said the police.