Modi condemns killing of e-rickshaw driver, announces ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to family

An e-rickshaw driver in Delhi was beaten to death on Saturday allegedly by a dozen men after he objected to two of them urinating outside the GTB Nagar Metro Station.

New Delhi, May 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned on Monday the killing of an e-rickshaw driver in Delhi for stopping two men from urinating in public and directed the authorities to punish the culprits .

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 'Swachh Bharat', an official spokesperson said in New Delhi.

"The Prime Minister condemned the incident and directed the authorities to bring to book and punish the culprits for committing such inhuman act," the spokesperson said.

Kumar was beaten to death on Saturday allegedly by a dozen men after he objected to two of them urinating outside the GTB Nagar Metro Station, according to the police.

Two men had bought liquor from a shop near the metro station and consumed it near Gate No. 4 last evening. They also urinated outside the station, to which the driver objected.

The duo told Kumar that they would get back at him later and left the place in another E-rickshaw,

Around 8pm, the duo, along with 10 others, returned to the metro station and attacked Kumar. He was rushed to a hospital where he died. Another e-rickshaw driver, who tried to intervene, was also assaulted.

Swachh Bharat is an ambitious programme initiated by the prime minister and he has been encouraging the public to contribute to this endeavour.

PTI