A Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus driver died after he was allegedly assaulted during a clash linked to a Vinayagar Chaturthi procession in Ramapuram in the early hours of Tuesday, with Ramapuram police arresting five people in connection with the case.
The procession, organised by the Arulmigu Raja Ganapathi Temple in Venkateswara Nagar, began at around 11pm. When the procession reached 13th Street, some residents requested that the Vinayagar chariot be taken through their street, while another group opposed the request, according to the report.
Police personnel deployed for the procession intervened and dispersed the two groups after talks. Around midnight, however, a group led by a man identified as Bhuvanesh went to the house of a resident, Anees, on 2nd Main Road and called him outside. An altercation then broke out, the report said.
During the confrontation, Anand allegedly struck Srinivasan, an MTC bus driver, on the chest from behind. Srinivasan collapsed and lost consciousness. Passers-by took him on a two-wheeler to a nearby private hospital, where he received first aid before being referred to the ESI Hospital in KK Nagar.
Doctors at the ESI Hospital declared Srinivasan dead. The report did not specify whether the assault occurred on the procession route or at the resident’s house, and the exact cause of death was not stated beyond the account of the assault and subsequent medical treatment.
Ramapuram police registered a case and arrested five people from the two groups in connection with the incident. The arrests followed a dispute over the procession’s route and a later confrontation between residents. Further details about the charges and the investigation were not available in the report.
