THOOTHUKUDI
A water tanker driver died under “mysterious circumstances” while being in the custody of SIPCOT police here on Wednesday.
The police said tanker driver B. Ruben Dhas (27) of Nalumukku in Manjolai Estate in Tirunelveli district was taking water in the tanker from Vallanadu to a private factory at SIPCOT Industrial Complex here around 5 a.m. on Wednesday. When he was crossing Madathur intersection, a flying squad, led by Tahsildar Ramachandran, intercepted the vehicle and checked the documents.
As the documents were reportedly found to be invalid and the tanker had been filled with more than the permissible quantity of water, the officials detained Ruben Dhas and handed him over to SIPCOT police.
As he reportedly developed chest pain around 6 a.m., the police, after informing the tanker company, rushed him to Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital. However, he died on the way to the hospital.
The deceased driver’s colleagues and office-bearers of a few caste outfits, who gathered in front of the hospital, staged a dharna and refused to accept the body. They said the government, besides conducting a proper enquiry into the “mysterious death” of the driver, should give adequate compensation to his family.
After Judicial Magistrate Rose Kala came to the hospital in the afternoon and conducted an on-the-spot enquiry, the police assured the protesters that appropriate action would be taken based on the post-mortem report.
Subsequently, Ruben Dhas’s relative received the body in the evening.