‘Harassed’ by loan agents, auto driver dies in Madurai; kin protest

However, the police are waiting for the postmortem report. A case has been booked under Section 194 of the BNS.
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MADURAI: A 48-year-old auto driver died after he was allegedly harassed by the employees of a private finance firm over pending dues on Saturday. The victim, K Natarajan’s family members refused to receive his body on Sunday, and demanded action against the financiers who allegedly caused the death.

According to police, K Prakash (31) of Arapalayam and P Sundar (27) of Karimedu, employees of an auto finance firm, got into a heated argument with Natarajan over pending dues at Mathichiyam police station.

They allegedly took Natarajan’s phone and auto key, after which he fell down. He sustained head injuries, followed by an alleged epilepsy attack. Natarajan was taken to the government hospital in Madurai, where doctors declared him dead.

Natarajan’s family members said he took the auto on loan from one Arun in Anaiyur but the terms and conditions are unclear. Without identifying the actual person who took the loan, the suspects got into an argument with Natarajan and started taking away his belongings. The accused allegedly claimed that dues were pending for past few months but Natarajan had borrowed the auto only a few days ago, the family members added.

A police officer said they have detained the private finance firm employees. Preliminary investigation revealed that Natarajan lost consciousness over shock after his belongings were taken away. As suspects believed the deceased was acting, they did not take him to a hospital.

However, the police are waiting for the postmortem report. A case has been booked under Section 194 of the BNS.

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