Driver found hanged in auto

No external injuries on body but police have their doubts

A 35-year-old autorickshaw driver was found mysteriously hung to death in his three-wheeler in Peenya Industrial Area here on Sunday morning, police said.
The family of the deceased suspected he was murdered.

Rangaswamy, a resident of Shivapura, was found dead by his neighbour Manjunath. His autorickshaw was parked on ABB Road just in front of the office of the company of the same name.

According to a police source, Rangaswamy’s body hanged with a towel from the iron bar of the vehicle’s roof above the passenger seat. His legs were raised in air. Manjunath then rushed to the house of the deceased and informed the latter’s wife, Dhanalakshmi, about the incident. He also called the police.

While Rangaswamy’s family alleged it was murder, police said they did not find any external injuries on the body, except for the mark around the neck that was probably caused by hanging. The deceased was found drunk, the police source added.

Nonetheless, investigators have raised doubts over the man’s ability to hang himself to death in the passenger seat of the autorickshaw. A senior officer who visited the spot said that although the body bore no external injuries, the possibility of murder could not be ruled out. Murder might have been passed off as suicide.

Forensic experts examined the spot and photographs of the scene of crime were taken,
the officer added. Experts would try to reconstruct the incident and give their opinion.
According to Dhanalakshmi, Rangaswamy had left home around 11 pm on Saturday for night duty. Usually, he would return by 6 am after night duty. But this time, he did not return even by 9.30 am, giving her some tense moments, Dhanalakshmi said in her statement to the police.

Dhanalakshmi also revealed to the police that her husband was caught in a debt trap and
was struggling to come out. The deceased earlier worked with a catering firm but switched to driving the autorickshaw which he had bought recently.

Rangaswamy hailed from Kenkere village in Hassan district and moved to the City 10 years ago. The couple have two daughters Sonu, 7, and Deekshitha, 5.
A case of unnatural death under Section 174 (C) of the IPC was booked by the Peenya police.