The police at Thatchanallur in Tirunelveli district have arrested six persons of an intermediate caste for allegedly assaulting, stripping and urinating on two Scheduled Caste youths on Monday.
The police said Manoj Kumar, 21, and his friend Mariappan, 19, of Manimurtheeswaram, had gone to the Thamirabarani to take a bath. While they were returning home, the accused, who were allegedly consuming liquor near the river, stopped them and asked them about their native place and their caste.
The victims told the police that when they revealed that they were from a Dalit hamlet, the inebriated men assaulted and stripped them and urinated on them.
“We were detained there till night by the gang. They also took ₹5,000 and two mobile phones from us before chasing us away from the spot. After going to a relative’s house nearby, we contacted our parents, who admitted us to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital,” one of the victims told the police. The other youth corroborated his statement.
Case registered
Registering a case based on a complaint from Mr. Manoj Kumar and Mr. Mariappan under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Thatchanallur police on Tuesday arrested Ponnumani, 25, of Thaazhaiyooththu; Nallamuthu, 21; Aayiram, 19; Ramar, 22; Siva, 22; and Lakshmanan, 22, all from Thirumalaikozhunthupuram near Palayamkottai.
They were remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday night.
