Saidabad: Labourer ends life after police 'seized bike'; cops deny claim

Telangana: A 52-year-old daily labourer ended his life allegedly after being harassed by traffic police. Identified as Ellaiah, he was allegedly pressured to clear his outstanding fine. According to reports, police had seized his bike, Ellaiah went home and ended his life. His family rushed him to a nearby private hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Saidabad police have registered a case under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and initiated an investigation. They have also recovered the note and sent it for forensic examination. Saidabad Inspector K. Subba Rami Reddy stated that all angles are being probed and the investigation would proceed based on the evidence.

Ellaiah, who hailed from Devarakonda in the Nalgonda district, was putting up at IS Sadan area with his wife and children Meanwhile, traffic police denied having seized the vehicle for pending challans. They stated that Ellaiah was stopped for drunk driving checks being conducted at Champapet and that he cooperated with them and took the test.

The breath analyzer test recorded 155 mg dl BAC, following which the police asked him to inform his relatives to take him home. However, he said he would collect the bike later and collected an acknowledgment. Mirchowk Traffic Inspector P Pramod Kumar clarified that they were conducting drunk driving checks and that a total of 12 persons were caught in the checks. He added that Ellaiah had been caught in drunk driving checks in 2019 and in December 2022 as well.

"The entire process was video recorded. The records, along with the drunk driving test ticket, were handed over to Saidabad police for further investigation," he stated. According to police records, 24 challans have been issued against Ellaiah's bike since 2018. These include a drunk driving challan issued on March 6.