Modi condemns brutal killing of E-rickshaw driver

New Delhi: Even after three days, the city police has failed to achieve any breakthrough in the gruesome murder of an e-rickshaw driver, who was beaten to death for stopping two people from urinating in public on Saturday.

A senior police official said that they have rounded up around 10 students from the locality for questioning. CCTV footage of the accused has been procured in which they were seen purchasing liquor from a shop in the same locality where the murder took place.

“The identities of the accused have been established with the help of CCTV footage. We have formed several police teams to arrest the acc-used. We have received significant information about the accused with the help of local informers. They will be arrested soon,” said Milind Dum-bre, DCP (Northwest).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night condemned the killing of the e-rickshaw driver and directed the authorities to punish the culprits.

Mr Modi, who is on a four-nation tour, also sanctioned Rs 1 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund as ex-gratia to the next of the kin of the 32-year-old driver Ravindra Kumar who was beaten to death for espousing the “Swachchh Bharat”, an official spokesman said here.

Earlier in the day, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu visited the house of the deceased and gave Rs 50,000 as financial aid to the family. Also, the Delhi government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the e-rickshaw driver.

The Union urban development minister, accompanied by Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, met the family members of the victim. He also visited the spot outside the GTB Metro Station where the e-rickshaw driver, Ravinder (32), was beaten to death by a dozen men on Saturday evening.

“Mr Naidu gave a cheque of Rs 50,000 from his own account to the wife of the deceased as an interim relief. We have also talked to the commissioner of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation for providing a job to her,” Mr Tiwari said.

The minister also directed the police to arrest, as soon as possible, the men responsible for killing Ravinder, whom he described as a promoter of Swachchh Bharat.

“The irony is that the spot where the e-rickshaw driver was beaten to death is hardly a few metres away from a sulabh shauchalaya complex. It is perhaps the first case where someone has given his life in the country for promoting cleanliness and sanitation and we are committed to support Ravinder’s family,” Mr Tiwari said.

“Sad that an e-rickshaw driver was beaten to death for stopping two people from urinating in public in Delhi. He was promoting Swachchh Bharat,” Mr Naidu tweeted.

He said that he has spoken with Delhi police chief Amulya Patnaik and asked him to take the “strongest action possible” against the culprits. Ravinder got married last year.