Three more persons were arrested by the Maradu police on Tuesday regarding the alleged assault of two young men by the staff of a private bus operator. A video of the assault inside the bus has gone viral since being posted on social media on Sunday.
According to the Times of India, the arrested persons have been identified as 37-year-old Giri Lal, who is a native of Kollam, 27-year-old Vishnu, who is a native of Alappuzha and 55-year-old Kumar, who is a native of Coimbatore.
With the arrest of these three persons, a total of seven arrests have been made regarding the case and as per the TOI report, the Ernakulam City Police Commissioner S Surendran said that all the accused in the case have been arrested. The report also states that all the arrested are employees of Suresh Kallada, the private bus operator whose staff had allegedly assaulted the two men.
A probe has been launched by a team lead by Thrikkakara assistant commissioner, Stuart Keeler to find out whether there were more persons involved in the assault.
The alleged assault took place on a Bengaluru-bound Suresh Kallada bus. The two young men had questioned the bus driver as well as bus authorities, demanding alternative arrangements after their bus broke down near Haripad in Kerala. A small argument took place between the youth and the bus driver when the bus had broken down. But a few hours later, the driver along with other staff had allegedly physically assaulted both the young men inside the bus. A fellow passenger had recorded the video and shared on social media, after which it went viral.
According to the TOI report, Keeler said “We have taken the statements of the victims and are trying to contact the other passengers who travelled in the bus when the incident happened. Measures have been taken to cancel the permit of the bus and the driving license of the driver.”
The arrested persons have been charged under Sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object). These are in addition with other sections such as section 392 (robbery), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons).
As per a report by Asianet News, the arrested persons who were presented before the Magistrate Court in Aluva have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. They have been shifted to Ernakulam Sub jail. The report also states that if the bus owner of Suresh Kallada does not appear before the police, legal action will be taken against him as well.