Refusal to pay bribe costs driver life
In UP...
A man driving a truck was allegedly beaten to death on Monday by employees of the Uttar Pradesh department of transport in Chandauli district, 300 km from here, after he refused to pay them a bribe of Rs 1,000 to let his vehicle to pass through a check post.
The death of the driver triggered widespread protests on the highway. A large number of truckers blocked traffic and pelted policemen with rocks when the latter tried to clear the blockade and resorted to lathi charge.
Police said they had registered a case against four employees of the transport department in connection with the death of the truck driver.
The driver, Anantlal Gupta, said to be a heart patient, vomited blood soon and collapsed after he was thrashed by the transport employees near the Sayyadraja area in Chandauli on the National Highway number two in the early hours of Monday. He was pronounced brought dead by doctors at a nearby hospital.
“My father was ready to pay them Rs 500, but they were insisting that he pay Rs 1,000...he said that the papers were in order and the truck too was , so why should he pay the bribe,” said Ashwini, the son of the dead driver. “He was a heart patient and was on medication,” he added. Some reports said the transport employees were demanding Rs 5,000.
Ashwini alleged that the employees took away the body of his father and dumped it three km across the border in Bihar. Chandauli district is situated on the UP-Bihar border.
The incident is second such in a fortnight, in Uttar Pradesh. Yet another truck driver was beaten to death by transport department employees in Agra a few days ago, for reportedly refusing to pay a bribe.
