Weeks after a video of DMK cadre beating up staff members at a biryani restaurant in Chennai went viral, KL Yuvaraj, the main accused has turned himself in to the police.
According to one report in The Hindu, the suspended DMK Youth Wing Secretary appeared before a magistrate at the Lily Pond Complex in Saligramam on Monday to surrender.
The incident took place on August 1 when Yuvaraj, an amateur boxer, and his cronies visited the ‘Salem RR Biriyani’ restaurant in Virugambakkam, and physically assaulted the staff members for not giving them free food. The act was caught on the CCTV camera installed inside the hotel and the video went viral on social media.
As per a report in the Times of India, magistrate Santhosh remanded Yuvaraj in judicial custody along with Diwahar, another DMK member who was involved in the incident.
The duo had absconded soon after the assault.
Speaking at the time, the restaurant staff told TNM that the men had visited the shop demanding free biriyani and told them that they were on their way to Kauvery Hospital, where the late DMK supremo Karunanidhi had been admitted for treatment at the time.
When the staff refused to give them the free food, the men beat them up, including an elderly waiter. Yuvaraj could be seen assuming the stance of a boxer before he began beating the staff up.
The police arrested seven others in connection with the incident: M Kishore (23), J 'Kutty' Kishore (24), M Sathish (23), N Karthik (22), M Suresh (21), V Manikandan (23), and H Ruthara Kumar (26). The men were booked under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 147 (rioting) of the Indian Penal code (IPC).
The incident caused an uproar and DMK Working President MK Stalin visited the restaurant a day after the incident to meet some of the staff members and relatives of owner Tamilselvan, who had suffered injuries in the assault.
Taking to Twitter, Stalin wrote, “The attack on the owner and employees of the shop in Virugambakkam is highly condemnable. Those who have violated the principles of the party have been removed. I warn that strict action will be taken against those who act in a manner that brings disrepute to the party.”