Auto Shankar

Gowri Shankar (21 January 1954 – 27 April 1995), better known as 'Auto' Shankar, was an Indian criminal, murderer and gangster from Tamil Nadu, who was active in Chennai throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Early and personal life Shankar was born in Kangeyanallur, Vellore. While he was in Pre-University College, his father left the family for Odisha. In the early 1970s, he came to Chennai, first living in a Mylapore slum before moving to the fast-developing area of Thiruvanmiyur on the outskirts of South Chennai.

Criminal history He survived by peddling cycle rickshaws, and later began to operate an auto rickshaw, from which he got his nickname.

At the time, the area was a criminal hotbed and Shankar began transporting illegal liquor (prohibition being in force at the time), and Shankar soon realised that prostitution was more profitable with lower risks, due to its association with politically influential people who could keep the police in check. His gang eliminated rivals either through the police force or through murder. An incident in which a rival gangster named Babu was murdered in the early 1980s, and which was ultimately covered up led Shankar to focus more on prostitution. He was sentenced to death along with two of his associates, Eldin and Shivaji, on 31 May 1991, ultimately being hanged in Salem Central Prison on 27 April 1995.

Associates In 1992, Shankar's five accomplices were sentenced to six months of Rigorous Imprisonment after having been found guilty by the Chengai-Anna District Judge N. Mohandoss. The accomplices were Shankar's brother, Mohan, Selva (alias Selvaraj) and the jail wardens Kannan, Balan and Rahim Khan. They were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension. Subsequently, Mohan was also found guilty of the six murders and was given three life sentences. He mentioned this during a seminar on "Crime and Media" in Kerala.

The trial has become widely known across the nation since the Supreme Court invoked the American free speech doctrine and the case became oft-quoted in relation to journalistic exposés.

In popular culture The 1990 Tamil language film Pulan Visaranai directed by R. K. Selvamani was partially inspired by Auto Shankar's crimes. Mithun Chakraborty and Shakti Kapoor starred in the 1995 Bollywood remake Ravan Raaj: A True Story. A documentary television series based on his life was aired on Makkal TV. Crime Patrol aired an episode on Sony TV based on the story of Auto Shankar. Appani Sarath played Auto Shankar in the 2019 ZEE5 web series Auto Shankar. This case was included as one of the cases in the bestselling book The Deadly Dozen: India's Most Notorious Serial Killers by Anirban Bhattacharyya, the creator-producer of the hit TV show Savdhaan India.