Driver hits labourer in Kerala while reversing auto-rickshaw, beats him up for questioning

An auto-rickshaw driver allegedly hit a migrant labourer from West Bengal while reversing his vehicle and snatched all his identity cards and beat him up for questioning the act in Vizhinjam near here, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday night, they said.

Police arrested Suresh (48), who is a resident of Vizhinjam, around 20 km away from Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram, for beating up Gautam Mandal (25).

"The video of Suresh beating up the West Bengal native was widely circulated on social media. We got a complaint and arrested him. He has been charged under section 308 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He's now remanded to judicial custody," police said.

Section 308 of the IPC deals with attempts to commit culpable homicide.

In the viral video, Suresh is seen slapping Mandal and verbally abusing him. The baffled Mandal is seen attempting to talk sense to Suresh, who was asking for his identity cards.

After snatching all the ID cards, Suresh asked Mandal to collect them from the police station.

However, the ID cards were later given back to Mandal by other auto drivers in the area.

Police said Suresh was a troublemaker in the locality and has engaged in similar brawls earlier as well.

"While Suresh was reversing his auto-rickshaw, it accidently hit Mandal. Suresh got agitated when Mandal questioned the act and asked for his ID card and started slapping him," police said.

Mandal is working as a construction labourer in the suburbs of the city, police said.

Police suspect Suresh to be engaged in sale of drugs and that he is an addict.