A young scooterist died on Sunday after he allegedly sped away on seeing a police team and got entangled in a rope tied across the road near Valanjambalam as part of restricting vehicular traffic ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade passage. The accident occurred around 10 p.m.
The deceased was identified as Manoj Unni, 28, of Vaduthala. Though he was rushed to a nearby private hospital by the police team, he succumbed to his injuries at 1.15 a.m. The hospital authorities attributed the death to a ruptured trachea, a minor surgery held to correct which proved unsuccessful.
The rope was tied across the lane where S.A. Road meets M.G. Road since the Prime Minister’s cavalcade was to pass through M.G. Road on its way to the Ernakulam Guest House. The cavalcade reached the guest house around 10.50 p.m.
The death has triggered a row with the family of the deceased accusing the police of lack of diligence in alerting the public about the road blockade. Chippy, the sister of the deceased, said there was neither proper lighting nor signage or barricade to indicate that the road was closed and that a rope was being tied across it.
“We have no problem with the police taking security measures for the movement of leaders and ministers, but they should also take into consideration the safety of the public. They should have put up a barricade or illuminated the rope with at least a ribbon in which case my brother would still be alive. There was also no street light in the area either,” said Ms. Chippy.
“I still cannot accept the fact that my brother who was with me till Sunday afternoon is no longer alive. He only had injuries on his neck and the veins on the neck were all ruptured. Doctors said he had to go through immense pain. He was said to have undergone surgery but we suspect whether that was the case since there was no sign of it,” she said.
Ms. Chippy said her brother did not have driving licence and could have panicked on seeing the police team.
The police, however, shot down the allegations, saying that the spot where the accident took place was properly lighted. The police team deployed there was trying to divert motorists to Ravipuram without touching M.G. Road, but the man had sped away, they said.
“It is usual practice to restrict traffic using rope during VIP movement, which we had done on Sunday as well with traffic along roads leading to M.G. Road being similarly restricted. It was removed as soon as the Prime Minister’s cavalcade passed and was restored again in the morning for an hour for facilitating the Prime Minister’s movement. The victim had taken learner’s licence in 2021, but did not have licence and probably panicked on seeing the police,” said police sources.
Action sought against cops
Meanwhile, District Congress Committee (DCC) president Mohammad Shiyas has demanded action against police officers who were responsible for the death of the youngster, which he alleged was a case of culpable homicide. He accused the police of trying to wriggle out of their responsibility by creating the impression that the man was speeding. He said the government could not wash its hands off of the tragedy. He warned of protest measures in case action was not taken against the erring officers.
