Chennai: Man arrested for allowing minor to operate earthmover involved in youth’s death

CHENNAI: Three days after an earthmover crushed a two-wheeler rider to death in Kotturpuram, the police arrested the owner of the vehicle for allowing a minor to operate it. The police had already arrested the driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old.

The victim, P Ulagaathipathi, the only son of former AIADMK MLA Selvam alias Periyapullan, was killed on July 22 after his motorcycle skidded and he was run over by an earthmover. He hails from Melur in Madurai district and had been staying in a rented house in Velachery with friends for his studies, police said.

Periyapullan is an AIADMK functionary who won from Melur constituency in 2016.

On Wednesday morning, Ulagaathipathi was riding his motorcycle to college when the accident happened. While passing the Highways Department office on Sardar Patel Road in Guindy, he reportedly lost control of the bike and fell onto the road.

At the same time, an earthmover coming from behind ran over him. Onlookers rescued him and rushed him to the hospital where he was declared as brought dead.

Investigators also found that the vehicle owner, Rajakumar (34) of Pallikaranai, had allowed the juvenile to operate the heavy vehicle despite knowing that such machinery should be driven only by trained and licensed operators.

Rajakumar was arrested and produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody. The police also seized the earthmover involved in the accident.