CHENNAI: Investigations have ruled out that the assault on an Odisha youth by four minor boys in Tiruttani last Saturday was racially motivated, the police said on Tuesday. Inspector General of Police (North Zone) Asra Garg also ruled out the speculation that the perpetrators were under the influence of drugs, saying there have been no evidence.
On December 27, the Odisha man Suraj was travelling on the Chennai-Tiruttani EMU train when he was accosted by the teenagers who initially mock-threatened him by brandishing machetes. They picked up an argument with Suraj after questioning him for staring at them and then made him alight at Tiruttani and forcibly took him to an abandoned quarters where they attacked him with their machetes and filmed the act and uploaded the video on social media.
On December 28, five special teams were formed and the four minors were apprehended.
"Since the victim did not speak the local language, we used an ex-serviceman to get a complaint from him. We had invoked section 109 BNS (attempt to murder) against the minors in conflict with law and produced them before the Juvenile Justice Board. Three of them were sent to a place of safety. One of them was sent with his parents," IGP Asra Garg told mediapersons on Tuesday.
Except for petty incidents in their neighbourhood, the four minors did not have any previous criminal history. "When asked about the machetes, they said they kept it handy in case of an attack from a rival gang," the IG added.
Police have seized the machetes from them.
The four minors didn’t have any criminal history, except for some priors in petty incidents. When asked about the machetes, they said they kept it handy in case of an attack from a rival gangAsra Garg, Inspector General of Police (North Zone)
Meanwhile, Suraj who was shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai from Thiruvallur, left the hospital voluntarily, stating that he wished to go back to his hometown, police said.
Police noted that Suraj has been roaming around Tamil Nadu, travelling in trains for the last two months. Meanwhile, the Government Railway Police have also registered a fresh case against the four minor boys.
IGP Garg said police have been monitoring social media regularly and have thwarted several clashes that may have erupted based on posts circulating on social media.