Auto race on Maduravoyal: Viral videos get cops to act

Two videos, of 99 seconds and 48 seconds, show two autorickshaws racing against each other and surrounded by several bikes cheering for them, while the stretch from the Vanagaram toll plaza to Perungalathur was busy even in the early hours.

Police are trying to identify the racers with the help of vehicles’ registration numbers.

The videos have been shot by the organisers and are suspected to have been leaked through their WhatsApp group.

In 2019, a similar race held on the Tambaram-Puzhal Bypass Road had claimed the life of one of the racers named Prabhakar, a mechanic, after which police kept a tight vigil on drag racers on the bypass road.

These racing gangs usually create WhatsApp groups to organise such events and risk their lives and that of others for prize money that could be as low as Rs 1,000, said police.