Tamil Nadu: Techie Crashes Into An Illegal Political Hoarding, Dies After Getting Run Over By Truck

Illegal construction of a wooden arch and wrongful driving by a truck caused the demise of K Raghupathy, a software engineer in Coimbatore on a Saturday morning, 25 November, as per NDTV reports.

Activists have alleged that the hoarding on Coimbatore’s Avinashi road covered about 30 % of the motorable area.

Raghupathy had come from the USA ten days ago with the purpose of meeting a prospective bride. He was to return on Sunday.

How did it happen?

The accident occurred around 2:30 am on 25 November when the 31-year-old was headed to Palani.

He allegedly slammed into the arch, that was raised for the MG Ramachandran Centenary festival since 3 October. A tipper truck, driving on the wrong side of the road, ran over him after that.

The police have captured the truck driver, Mohan, who works for the Coimbatore Integrated Waste Management Company Private Limited. The truck was travelling from Ramanathapuram and was headed towards Coimbatore.

The body was sent to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital and was handed over to the family on Saturday evening.

What do the authorities say?

The structure that Ragupathy crashed into took up space on both sides, and the police reportedly said that he was thrown off his bike as it hit a jutted out portion of the structure. According to police reports, Raghupathy was not wearing a helmet while he was riding his motorcycle.

The Commissioner of the Coimbatore Corporation ordered the removal of hoardings, saying that they were not put up with due permission and were thus illegal.

Members of the Opposition parties have been clamouring for a proper and unbiased investigation into the case and compensation for Raghupathy’s family – they even want a case filed against the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, E Palaniswami.

Social media uproar

Post the unfortunate death of the young techie; the social media is abuzz with the hashtag #WhoKilledRagu. From eminent personalities to commoners – everyone has expressed their anger at the carelessness on the part of the government.

Under the pretext of #MGRcentenary, the AIADMK govt. continues to blatantly violate the High Court's order on obstructive & dangerous hoardings – now resulting in the death of Raghu, a promising young engineer in Coimbatore. I condemn this lawless govt. in the strongest terms. pic.twitter.com/tkbm9NDlHk

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) November 26, 2017

உயிர்ச்சேதமானாலும் பரவாயில்லை. புகழும் பதவியும் மட்டுமே முக்கியம் என நினைக்கும் எவ்வரசும் கவிழும். பாதசாரிகளின் உயிரை மதியாத அரசு பல்லக்கில் போவது வெகுநாள் நடக்காது. விபத்துகள் நிகழ வழி செய்பவர் கொலைக்கு உடந்தையாவர் என தமிழக Banner"ஜி"க்கள் உணரவேண்டும்

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) November 26, 2017

A graffiti, ‘Who Killed Ragu’, was also drawn at the accident spot on the night of 25 November. The graffiti, which went viral on social media, was later covered up with white paint on 26 November, Sunday.

In spite of previous complaints to the police, no actions were taken by the police.

@karthickselvaa sent a complaint to the coimbatore city police whatsapp helpline 5hrs before Raghu met with accident …. But no response… If something had been done by the police we would not have lost a precious life #WhoKilledRagu #WhoKilledRaghu pic.twitter.com/AKiAzpzko5

— Thilak (@thilakprakash) November 27, 2017

Illegal constructions, not a new sight

On 15 August, a resident of Chennai, Balaji Prem Kumar, raised his voice against the authorities of a damaging temple roads for the construction of a Puja pandal. The construction of the pandal resulted in traffic jams in the area and also had illegal electricity connections.

After being abused and heckled by the temple authorities and politicians, Balaji finally contacted victory and won the battle when the pandal was shifted to a different location.

The Logical Indian Take

The Madras High Court, on 24 October, banned the use of pictures of living persons in all banners, sign-boards, flex boards and so on to ensure that a clean atmosphere is maintained in public spaces, by the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959.

The Court had also stated that necessary steps should also be taken against those who object to such banners and signboards being removed.

It is essential that similar steps are taken to keep under control the centenary celebrations of political leaders.

It is unfortunate how a callous work on the part of the government has resulted in the death of an innocent person. The Logical Indian urges the concerned authorities to look into the matter and ensure that similar unfortunate events do not take place.