Thiruvananthapuram, April 11 Auto-rickshaw drivers at the Thampanoor railway station went on a brief strike on Saturday morning to protest against one of their colleagues allegedly being beaten by a railway police officer the previous night, officials said.
An official at the Thampanoor station said that a railway police officer allegedly assaulted an auto-rickshaw driver on Friday night, and a case would be registered in connection with the incident.
"A case will be registered. We are recording statements. It was an officer of the railway police force," the official said.
According to auto-rickshaw drivers operating near the railway station, the police officer verbally abused and assaulted their colleague for not removing his vehicle from the area as directed.
"The officer verbally abused him for not removing the auto-rickshaw, and when he questioned it, he was slapped on the face and kicked in the stomach. The officer further verbally abused him. Therefore, we decided to go on strike," one of the auto-rickshaw drivers told reporters.
The officer at the Thampanoor police station said the strike was subsequently called off after the drivers were assured that action would be taken in the matter.