"Makkal Auto" driver seriously injured by fellow auto drivers

: Tension prevailed near the railway junction here today when an autoricksaw driver of a private group was chased and assaulted by some auto drivers, leaving him seriously injured.
He was assaulted for reportedly running the vehicle at a lesser fare than what they were demanding.
The autorickshaw drivers are demanding that the minimum fare in the city be fixed at Rs 30 for the first two km, as against Rs 25 fixed in Chennai by the state government.
The man was running his vehicle under 'Makkal Auto' (People's auto) group, which has a minimum charge of Rs 16 for the first two km and Rs six for every additional km.

Police rushed to the spot, rescued him from the crowd and admitted him in the hospital.
Earlier, auto drivers submitted a memorandum to District Collector Archana Patnaik,seeking to fix the meter charges as urged by trade unions and directed by the government.

On their way out, they saw a "Makkal Auto" taking passengers from the railway station to Gandhipuram, stopped it, forced the people to alight and then damaged it.
The driver tried to escape but they chased and attacked him, leaving him seriously injured, police said.
Meanwhile, another "Makkal Auto" driver was attacked by some auto drivers in Ganapati area here and was admitted to the Government Hospital, police said.