CHENNAI: In an incident that triggered instant condemnation from the public and netizens, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) official hit a 57-year-old homeless man sleeping on the platform with his lathi, leaving him with a bleeding injury on his head and bruises on his body.

After a video of the incident at Chengalpattu railway station went viral on social media, senior RPF officers said an inquiry was under way.

According to sources, the man, identified as Tamilselvan, has been living on Chengalpattu railway station platform for about three months. On Saturday night, he was sleeping after dinner when the RPF official hit him with a lathi, leaving him with injuries.

Shocked by this, the passengers who were at the station surrounded the officials and began questioning him, forcing him to leave the spot. After one of the passengers who recorded the scene posted it on social media, it went viral and led to the demand for the arrest of the official.

When contacted, a senior RPF officer claimed that Tamilselvan was creating a nuisance in the station after getting drunk. The official was trying to chase him away, the officer claimed, but added that an inquiry was on regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, Tamilselvan, who was taken to the hospital, reportedly went missing from there on Sunday afternoon.