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Do-gooders attacked by criminal gang
“I was not upset when the thugs beat me. But I was heartbroken when the police, who should have punished the thugs, beat me and my friends,” says S. Salman (18) who alleges that he was assaulted for nabbing a thief and returning the stolen valuables.
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Coimbatore
The three boys was admitted in the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where they were treated for internal injuries. An audio seeking justice for their assault went viral in the social media. The city police are probing into the incident. Salman and his friends K. Mohammed Azarudeen (20) and S. Vignesh (20) work in a hotel on Raja Street, in the city. They went to Gandhi Park late in the evening on Sunday. Around 7 30 pm they heard a woman calling out for help. They were aghast to see the woman, struggling with her child, trying to run behind a youth. Realising he must have robbed her off her valuables, they swung into action.
“We chased the youth, grabbed the mobile phone and the gold chain he had snatched from the woman and handed it over to her,” Salman said. He added that the woman did not even have the time to thank them and left the place as soon as she got back her valuables. While they did not expect her to thank them they were returning home jubilantly. Just 10 minutes after they left the park, the trio was assaulted by a gang of eight persons.
“They questioned us for stopping their accomplice and retrieving the stolen property from him. They beat us mercilessly with a log. Two policemen, in uniform, who came by that way joined them in assaulting us. The policemen asked us not to interfere in such incidents,” Vignesh said. “Soon a crowd gathered around. Many were just mute spectators. I want the policemen to be punished,” Salman said and doubted if he would help someone in distress in the future. Fearing that their employer G. Mohammed Rafeek would dismiss them if he noticed their swollen face and limbs, they told him what happened. With his help, they got admitted to the CMCH.
Rafeek discussed the issue with his counsel R. Krishnamoorthi, a High Court lawyer, who spread the message on WhatsApp. “There are quite a few recent incidents in which policemen and police officers were arrested for their nexus with culprits for various crimes including waylaying. Assault by police on innocent youth who recovered stolen property and handed it over to the rightful owner is shocking. This makes us wonder if there was a nexus between the accused and the police,” Krishnamoorthi told DTNext.
Stating that such incidents will instil fear in the minds of people who want to help victims in distress, the lawyer said that an inquiry should be conducted into the incident and the erring police personnel should be dismissed. “We will move the court to initiate action again the guilty police personnel,” he added. Coimbatore City Police Commissioner A. Amalraj said that they will consider the issue and initiate appropriate action. A senior police officer said that they will establish the authenticity of the complaint before initiating action. Efforts were on to retrieve CCTV footage recorded in the vicinity to confirm the incident and identify the suspects. Based on Salman’s complaint the RS Puram police have registered a case.
Van driver murdered
A 35-year-old van driver was murdered by a gang at Kottakudi near Melur in Madurai district, on Monday. The deceased identified as Muthupandi, from Kottakudi, was on his way to Melur to a sugar mill in the wee hours of Monday. When he was about to cross the pond in the village, he was intercepted by a gang of six members. Though he tried to escape by jumping into the water, the gang surrounded him and beat him with sticks and iron rods. Muthupandi died on the spot. Hearing his cries for help, some villagers rushed to the spot and informed the police. Melur police booked a case. It was learnt that Muthupandi had an alleged illicit affair with Suganya of the same village. Her husband Kumaran was employed in Singapore. A month ago, when Kumaran returned to his village, he came to know about the affair. He warned Muthupandi and it ended in a dispute. According to the police, Kumaran with the help of his friends, plotted and excuted the murder of Muthupandi. All the accused absconded and the police have launched a search for them.
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