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Two men have been arrested in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on Monday, December 29, for murdering a migrant worker near Ukkadam in the city.
Coimbatore Bazaar police arrested A Bajith Khan (30), an autorickshaw driver, and R Prakash (38) – both are residents of Karumbukadai in Coimbatore.
The deceased, R Suraj (22), a migrant worker from Midnapore district in West Bengal, was living in the Pullukadu housing unit and working at an eatery in Karumbukadai.
According to reports, Suraj was standing near the 16th block of the Pullukadu housing unit around 10.30 pm on Sunday, December 28, speaking with his friend Raketh (21), who is also from West Bengal.
Bajith had allegedly arrived at the spot driving a passenger autorickshaw in a rash manner and hit Suraj.
When Suraj confronted him, an argument broke out. Bajith was soon joined by his friend Prakash, and the two allegedly abused Suraj and Raketh, threatening to kill them if they did not apologise.
As Suraj refused to apologise, Bajith allegedly punched him on the nose, causing him to collapse on the road with severe injuries.
Raketh then ran to Suraj’s residence to inform his family, while passersby rushed Suraj to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries on Monday afternoon.
A case has been registered against Bajith and Prakash on charges of murder, and both were later remanded to judicial custody.
The killing comes close on the heels of an assault on a 20-year-old man from Odisha aboard a Chennai-Tiruttani EMU local train last month, in which four juveniles allegedly attacked him with sickles after an altercation. Police have said the attack was not linked to the victim’s identity as an out-of-state resident, but because of a personal altercation.