Tension prevailed at the City Market area on Sunday afternoon after hundreds of autorickshaw drivers staged a flash protest demanding action against a police constable who allegedly attacked an auto driver.

The protest led to a traffic jam beneath the City Market flyover. Senior police officers rushed to the spot and pacified the protesters, who later withdrew the protest.

Background

A man and his son were injured in an accident near the Ganesha temple. Two constables rushed to the spot and soon a large crowd gathered there. 

The driver of a speeding autorickshaw, Sadique, failed to notice the Cheetah motorcycle of the cops parked nearby and rammed into it. The bike was partially damaged in the incident, police said.

Constable Gunadal of the City Market police station, exchanged heated words with him and allegedly punched him for damaging the bike. The driver sustained injuries.
 Soon news about the incident spread and several autorickshaw drivers gathered there. They staged a protest demanding action against Gunadal.

Officers of the Chikpet sub-division rushed to the spot and held a discussion with the protesting auto drivers. They withdrew the protest after the ACP pacified them.

Driver’s murder solved

Thyagarajnagar police claimed to have solved the murder case of an autorickshaw driver, who was killed a week ago, with the arrest of three persons.

The arrested are in the age group of 20 to 25 years. The police also seized weapons used to commit the crime, sources said, adding that the murder was committed over an old rivalry.

“The police arrested the suspects within 48 hours of the murder. Although the suspects claimed innocence initially, they admitted to the crime after thorough police interrogation.

They were also produced before the court,” said a senior officer, but refused to divulge further details regarding the suspects.

The suspects allegedly slit the throat of Narayanaswamy, the auto driver, late in the night on February 4. They then wrapped his body in a bed sheet, stuffed it into a gunny bag and dumped it below an electricity pole opposite a house in Thyagarajnagar.

The murder came to light the next morning when some residents noticed the abandoned bag and informed the police. 

The identity of the victim was established the same night, when Narayanaswamy’s mother and sister recognised the body.