Armed students clash in railway station, 1 held

The injured were identified as M Jagadeeswaran (18) and R Dinesh (18), first-year B Com and BA students of Presidency College respectively, while the police have secured one of the accused, R Mohan (19), a second-year BSc Botany student of Pachaiyappa’s College, Kilpauk. The incident took place Tuesday afternoon when a group of Presidency College students were returning home on the suburban train towards Avadi. 

When the train reached Pattaraivakkam station, a group of 15 students from Pachaiyappa’s College, who were waiting at the station, entered the coach and started attacking the rival gang. Mohan reportedly attacked Jagadeeswaran in which he suffered a cut injury on his leg, while Dinesh was also suffered injuries on his knees as he tried to escape. 

Shocked by the daring attack, other commuters ran for their lives. The attackers fled the scene with weapons even as panic-stricken women commuters ran out of the train shouting for help. Following alert, Perambur railway police and Avadi assistant commissioner Nandakumar with a police team, rushed to the spot. 

Based on inputs from eye witnesses, police secured Mohan and seized as many as nine one-foot long machetes from him. A hunt has been launched for 13 other students involved in the incident. Police sources said that though students of Pachaiyappa’s and Presidency colleges clash over ‘route thala’ (leader of the route) tag every year, the fight has gotten worse after the students began taking up weapons. 

This is the second group clash reported at railway stations in as many days – on Monday, two groups entered into a fight at Chintadripet MRTS station. Police are inquiring whether same students were involved in attack on Tuesday. 

In October last year, a number of students were arrested for brandishing weapons while on train and bursting crackers at Nemilichery railway station. The latest incident has raised serious questions about the safety of commuters who are caught in the midst of the campus gang wars.