Vehicle cleaner killed as stones hurled at a truck during the strike in Kerala

Palakkad (Kerala): A cleaner was killed and the driver injured when stones were hurled at a truck from Tamil Nadu near Kanjikode in Palakkad district on Monday, police said. The truck, carrying vegetables from Mettupalayam in Coimbatore, was on its way to Chengannur in Alappuzha district of Kerala when stones were hurled at it, the police said.

The stones were hurled allegedly by the supporters of the ongoing lorry strike, which entered the fourth day today.

Trucks from Tamil Nadu are not being allowed into Kerala for the last three days due to the strike.

About three lakh lorry owners belonging to the Kerala State Lorry Owners' Welfare Federation are on strike, protesting the hike in diesel price and increase in vehicle insurance premium, besides demanding a reduction of toll charges on major routes.

The association's Kerala president, K.K Hamsa, denied any role in the incident and said they had not issued any instruction to block vehicles as part of the strike. Anti-social elements could be behind the incident, he said.

The window pane of the truck was damaged in the stone-pelting incident, injuring the cleaner, Mubarak Badshah, hailing from Mettupalayam.

Though Badshah was rushed to the hospital, he could not be saved, the police said. The driver of the truck also suffered minor injuries in the incident, they added.