Naidu condemns lynching of e-rickshaw driver

New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday condemned the lynching of an e-rickshaw driver in the national capital for trying to stop people from urinating in public and promoting Swachh Bharat.

Naidu also spoke to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik demanding strictest action against the perpetrators of the crime.

"Sad that an e-rickshaw driver was beaten to death for stopping two people from urinating in public in Delhi. He was promoting Swachh Bharat," Naidu said in a tweet.

The Urban Development Minister also said that he has spoken to the Police Commissioner and asked for "strongest action possible against the culprits".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s remarks came after 32-year-old driver Ravinder Kumar was lynched on Saturday by a group of 15 youths, including two allegedly from Delhi University, after he objected to two of them urinating near the GTB Nagar Metro station.

The youths used towels filled with stones to hit him, a friend of Kumar and an eye-witness said. None from the public watching the lynching came forward to help Kumar, who died on the spot.