TNSTC driver ends life; family blames officials

In his suicide note, J Balamurugan of Lakshmi Nagar in Bhavani Taluk, Erode district, had sought stringent action against the officers responsible for the extreme step. He is survived by wife Prema and nine-year-old daughter Sivanishri, who is studying in Class 5.

While the driver committed suicide on Monday, only on Wednesday his family got the suicide note written by the man with the names of the officials on it. In the suicide note, he claimed that he was a jeep driver at TNSTC Coimbatore and he paid Rs 40,000 as bribe to get transferred to Erode so that he can work from his native village. But to his shock and surprise he got posted as a bus driver. 

His letter claims that the officials once again demanded Rs 40,000 as bribe for an internal transfer as a jeep driver. Upset over the pestering for bribes he wrote a detailed suicide note, on July 22. 

The last part of his letter to the Chithode police stated that he was going to end his life by jumping in front of a train and named two officers as the reason for him taking the extreme step. Late on Wednesday evening, TNSTC drivers and conductors staged a demonstration at Erode demanding justice for Balamurugan. They also urged the transport corporation to take action against the officials who demanded a bribe and put an end to corruptionthat is rampant in the TNSTC.