THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A preliminary inquiry by the Motor Vehicles Department into the suicide of autorickshaw driver Shoukath Mundanparamb has concluded that his vehicle’s Certificate of Fitness was denied strictly on safety grounds, and dismissed allegations of administrative delay or bribery demands.
The probe revealed that the vehicle was never brought back for mandatory reinspection after being flagged for illegal structural modifications in November 2025. The probe was ordered by Transport Minister C P John following Shoukath’s suicide.
According to official findings, the inspection conducted on November 11, 2025, at the Kondotty Sub RTO revealed multiple unauthorised alterations, including driver seat armrests, sharp metal wheel cups, and welded steel railings on both sides of the driver and passenger cabins. Assistant motor vehicle inspector Premkumar rejected the application and instructed Shoukath to produce the vehicle after removing these items.
Analysis of a video recorded by Shoukath on the day of reinspection, and circulated online shortly before his death on August 27, 2026, showed the officer specifically pointing out projecting elements on the remaining steel railings and advising their removal.
Shoukath had voiced reluctance to remove them citing the expenditure already incurred on the fittings. The department confirmed that the vehicle was never produced for a subsequent test following that exchange.
The inquiry noted that while the fitness certificate had been validly issued in August 2023 for a two-year period, Shoukath raised no official complaints with the Malappuram RTO or higher authorities during or after the November 2025 inspection.
The video evidence surfaced only five months after the interaction, long after the inspecting officer had been transferred to the Ramanattukara Sub RTO in Kozhikode in March 2026.
While departmental and police investigations continue into all surrounding circumstances, official records confirm that the fitness denial was tied directly to unrectified safety defects.
Shoukath died on Thursday after facing difficulties in obtaining a fitness certificate for his autorickshaw due to alleged agent lobby operating in association with MVD officials in Malappuram.
