Police injustice costs auto driver's livelihood

 Kalpetta: N.R. Narayanan, a resident of Mukkilapeedika, Muppainad, is still knocking on doors after his auto was impounded by the Meppadi police for failure to pay insurance. The auto which was seized by the police in December 2018 was dismantled and sold without his knowledge. There is nowhere he hasn't gone pleading for help during this time frame. "Should I buy the Rs 10000 compensation that the police offer for a Rs 2.5 lakh auto", says Narayanan as his helplessness reflected in his words. 

Narayan drove autos since 1989 and bought his auto after taking out a loan. The police had asked him to pay a fine of Rs 10000 and come back with the insurance documents after his auto was seized during a police checking in 2018. Having worked overtime at hotels in Ernakulam to raise the money for insurance, he returned to the station along with an insurance agent to retrieve his auto. But all he could find was the remains of his vehicle destroyed by an earthmover. On enquiring, he was threatened. Neither Narayanan nor his family was informed before the dismantlement. 

Following this incident, Narayanan consulted a lawyer who advised him to submit his complaint to the Legal Services Authority. A lawyer was arranged by the authority for the same. In the sitting that followed, the police testified that the vehicle was dismantled after an auction in May 2022 since the owner hadn't turned up to collect his vehicle. 

The police stood firm on their decision and were neither ready to retrieve the vehicle nor pay the compensation. Narayanan refused the Rs 10000 amount compensation offered by the police. He was denied justice even after registering complaints with the Collector and District Superintendent of Police.

With the loss of livelihood, Narayanan's life is at stake. The family's survival depended on the earnings he received from hotels and tea shops and from his wife who worked as a daily wage labourer. Buying a new auto is a far-fetched dream considering his financial instability. He hopes that the authorities will allow him a deserving compensation.