Auto driver murdered for charging minimum fare

Charging the normal fare and being friendly with passengers could prove fatal for a regular city autorickshaw driver.

In a shocking incident, a 67-year-old autorickshaw driver was beaten to death by a fellow auto driver at the Yamaluru autorickshaw stand last Wednesday.

Y M Narayana, a former staff at the Commercial Tax Department, and a resident of Yemaluru died soon after, when another auto driver Babu, hit him while passengers were boarding Narayana’s auto around 5 am on January 2. Babu (20), had a heated argument with Narayana on Wednesday over a fare offer he made to a potential passenger, the police said.

Narayana fell on the ground after Babu hit him in his privates. He soon fell unconscious, and succumbed to the injury. Following Narayana’s autopsy report, Babu was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. He is facing murder charges.

Narayana’s family was dumbfounded when the body was brought to the house. They later learnt about the murder over the trivial scuffle. Further on, his daughter Y N Prema filed a complaint with the Marathahalli police on January 7. Prema told DH that her father, after retirement in 2011, started driving the autorickshaw. He never used to demand excess money from passengers and was also keen on social service, she said.

Increasingly, over time, more passengers preferred Narayana’s vehicle over other autos. As he was operating aorund the ECOSPACE IT hub, many techies used to hire him. The other drivers at the auto-stand did not like Narayana for the very reason that they could not demand exorbitant fares in his presence.