CHENNAI: The recent killing of two Tamil Nadu lorry drivers by highway robbers in Karnataka has brought to the fore the constant threat faced by heavy vehicle drivers who hit the highway at night and the absence of proper police patrol.Hailing from Thuraiyur in Tiruchy district, Nalathambi (54) and Govindaraj (40) were gruesomely murdered by robbers on NH-13 in Bagalkot, Karnataka while they were heading to Silvassa in a copper-laden truck from Thoothukudi on November 25. “The gangsters had stripped the drivers to ensure that no evidence was left behind,” K Nallathambi, Managing Committee Member, All India Motor Transport Congress, told Express. “In a similar case last year, police were able to trace the family of a driver who was killed, to Namakkal, from the name of the village printed on his shirt collar. This time, the robbers left the bodies nude, after hijacking the truck” he added.This is the ninth incident involving heavy vehicles transporting copper during the last four years, wherein pirates escaped with the trucks after murdering the drivers. According to Nallathambi, of the 18 truck drivers, only nine bodies were recovered till date. Interestingly, the hijackers succeeded in their mission, despite the trucks being fitted with GPS to track its movements. The gangsters had damaged the GPS system in the vehicle soon after hijacking the truck on November 25 night. It is also alleged that the drivers ignored warnings from the truckers’ association to avoid the journey after sunset on that particular stretch.R Sugumar, president of Confederation of Surface Transport in Tamil Nadu sought coordination between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to end the menace. “We have already taken up this issue with the Home Secretaries of both States and with the Union Home Ministry,” he added. When contacted, Abhishek Goyal, Superintendent of Police, Bagalkot district, said the drivers could have been done to death elsewhere and dumped in Bagalkot.
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