Workplace harassment at MTC depot claims junior engineer's life
The 53-year-old victim, Yuvaraj, had been working with the Tambaram MTC workshop for nearly 25 years. He lived with his wife, Poornima, and their son in Jawahar Ayya Nagar, Adhanur near Guduvanchery.
Representative image (File photo)
CHENNAI: A junior engineer with the Tambaram MTC depot took the extreme step after sending an online complaint to the Tamil Nadu DGP, stating that workplace harassment and denial of medical leave were taking a severe toll on him.
The 53-year-old victim, Yuvaraj, had been working with the Tambaram MTC workshop for nearly 25 years. He lived with his wife, Poornima, and their son in Jawahar Ayya Nagar, Adhanur near Guduvanchery.
According to the police, Yuvaraj had applied for medical leave, enclosing his medical records and certificates, as he had been suffering from severe neck pain. However, the depot manager shot down his request. Subsequently, it was also rejected by the HR department, and he was marked absent.
The management also initiated disciplinary action against Yuvaraj under Rule 11 of the government service conduct rules. He was put through further hardship as he was denied his salary and was not assigned to any work, inflicting severe distress.
At 12.35 pm on Monday, Yuvaraj sent an online petition naming Tambaram depot manager Govindaraj and HR officer Swarnalatha to the DGP, for causing him distress and declared it as his suicide note.
Before the police could intervene, Yuvaraj had allegedly jumped in front of the Tiruchy-Chennai Cholan Express around 5.25 pm near the Kattankulathur railway station. The Tambaram Railway police retrieved the body and sent it to the Tambaram GH for post-mortem. Police have registered a case and are investigating further.