Murukan, a native of Alappuzha’s Mannar, is currently frustrated and distressed after obtaining a notice of penalty charge from the Gram Nyayalaya, a government-established village court that handles civil and criminal offences.
The notice states that Murukan has been fined Rs 1,000 for reckless driving. Murukan’s neighbours and he are perplexed by this notice, as Murukan does not own a car and is unfamiliar with operating anything other than a bicycle.
The incident garnered media coverage on the subject. When Murukan inquired with the police about the notice, he was informed that he was not required to pay the fine. Murukan was forced to dash from one location to another, costing him two days’ worth of earnings. Despite this setback, he was relieved to discover he was not responsible for the fine.
However, cyber persecution was then allegedly reported. When it was revealed that Murukan neither has a car nor knows how to operate one, the narrative on social media was that it was his son’s car. Some social media users asserted that Murukan received the notice because he is the vehicle’s owner. Some even claimed that the news was misreported and that it was not unusual that the car proprietor and not the driver (son) received the notice.
