Kerala autorickshaw driver dies by suicide after alleging MVD harassment

A 33-year-old autorickshaw driver allegedly died by suicide in Malappuram after claiming on Facebook that MVD officials denied his vehicle a fitness certificate, causing financial distress. The Kerala government ordered an inquiry, while autorickshaw unions protested demanding action against officials

Malappuram (Keralam): A 33-year-old autorickshaw driver allegedly died by suicide here after posting on Facebook that the MVD had denied a fitness certificate for his vehicle, police said on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Shoukat of Mundaparambu, Puliyakode, near Kizhisseri. He had been working as an autorickshaw driver for the past four years.

Transport Minister C P John has sought a report on the allegations against the Sub Regional Transport Office, while various autorickshaw drivers’ and employees’ unions staged a protest march at Kizhisseri demanding action.

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According to police, Shoukat alleged in his Facebook post that the Motor Vehicles Department had affected his livelihood by not issuing a fitness certificate for his autorickshaw after he approached officials directly without the assistance of agents.

After seeing the post, his friends alerted police and went to his house, where he was found dead, police said. In the post, Shoukat alleged that he had been visiting MVD offices for the past 10 months over his vehicle and claimed that the denial of the fitness certificate had left him in severe financial distress.

He said he had fallen behind on his EMIs and that his credit score had dropped from 820 to 600. Shoukat alleged that MVD officials might claim during an inquiry that his vehicle was unfit because of steel modifications. He claimed officials had twice earlier certified that the modifications were not illegal.

He urged the state Home minister and the Kerala High Court to intervene and sought a detailed inquiry into his allegations against MVD officials.

He alleged that the agent system was a major cause of corruption in the MVD and called for its abolition. Shoukat urged people to use the Right to Information Act to seek information from government departments and fight corruption.

Areekode police have registered a case of unnatural death and launched an investigation.Transport Minister C P John said the government had tasked Transport Department Secretary T V Anupama with conducting a comprehensive inquiry into Shoukat’s death. In a statement, John described the incident as “extremely unfortunate and painful” and said a preliminary report had been sought within two days.

The transport secretary will examine whether there were any lapses or instances of harassment by MVD officials during the vehicle inspection or subsequent procedures, he said. The inquiry will also examine the visuals and note shared by Shoukat on social media, John said, adding that strict action would be taken against those found responsible based on the inquiry report.

John said the government had issued strict directions that MVD officials should not harass people earning their livelihood through their work and should deal with the public in a more friendly manner.

The government would take all necessary steps to prevent such incidents from recurring, he added. Various autorickshaw drivers’ and employees’ unions staged a protest march at Kizhisseri, raising allegations against the MVD.

The protesters blocked the road for around an hour and demanded that a case be registered against the MVD officials. They told reporters that MVD officials regularly harassed autorickshaw drivers who approached the department for fitness certificates, while no such action was taken against private vehicles with modifications. They demanded immediate action against those responsible and a detailed inquiry into the incident.