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Corruption is a major problem in almost every government department. The transport department across the country is among the government bodies frequently associated with corruption in public surveys. We have come across multiple reports in the past where officers from the department were caught accepting bribes. We have now come across an unfortunate incident from Kerala, where an autorickshaw driver died by suicide after blaming Motor Vehicle Department officials.

The incident has been reported from Kerala’s Malappuram district. A 35-year-old autorickshaw driver named Shoukath died by suicide recently, and he blamed the Motor Vehicle Department for his death. Reports surfacing online suggest that Shoukath had been trying to renew the fitness certificate of his commercial vehicle for almost a year. He usually got it renewed through an agent, but this time, he decided to do it himself. He applied for the fitness certificate, but the authorities allegedly rejected the application every time, citing one issue or another.

Shoukath even posted a video on social media before his death, in which a Motor Vehicle Department officer can be seen asking him to remove a stainless-steel bar that he had installed on the partition between the driver and passenger cabins.

The driver mentioned that this was not a new addition and that he had been getting the vehicle’s documents renewed in the same condition for the last four years. In his recent social media post, the autorickshaw driver alleged that his vehicle was not being issued a fitness certificate because he had not gone through an agent and that officials were demanding a bribe.

As he could not obtain the fitness certificate on time, the taxi permit for his vehicle also expired, and he was unable to pay the EMIs for his autorickshaw. This affected his source of income. In the suicide note that surfaced after his death, Shoukath alleged that corruption and an unofficial agent-run blacklist within the MVD prevented him from getting his vehicle inspected. He urged people to raise their voices against such issues so that no one else would have to suffer in the future.

He also asked the authorities to take necessary action and conduct a proper investigation to determine the root cause of the issue. Local motor workers and autorickshaw unions staged demonstrations in Kizhisseri, demanding strict action against corrupt practices and greater accountability from officials.

After reports of alleged harassment by MVD officials came to light, Transport Minister C.P. John said that the state government had assigned Transport Department Secretary T.V. Anupama to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident.

The Transport Secretary has also been asked to submit a preliminary report on the incident within two days. During the investigation, officials will examine whether there were any lapses on the part of Motor Vehicle Department personnel during the vehicle inspection. The note and video shared by Shoukath online will also be taken into consideration during the probe, and strict action will be taken against anyone found responsible.