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The assault on a 20-year-old youth from Odisha onboard a Chennai-Tiruttani EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) local train was not linked to his identity as an out-of-state resident, Inspector General of Police (North Zone) Asra Garg said on Tuesday, December 30.
The victim, identified as K Suraj, was attacked by four juveniles on Saturday, December 27, while travelling in the general compartment of the EMU train. Police said the juveniles, who were reportedly intoxicated, had boarded the train at Tiruvalangadu carrying two sickles concealed in their bags, allegedly to shoot reels for social media.
According to the police, one of the juveniles placed a sickle on Suraj’s neck inside the train, triggering an argument after the victim objected. When asked whether the attack was because the victim was from North India, the IG said preliminary investigation does not point towards that. “The juveniles questioned him for staring at them, and the incident escalated from there,” the IG said, adding that further investigation is underway into if there was any substance or drug abuse in the case.
The altercation continued until the train reached Tiruttani railway station, after which the juveniles allegedly forced Suraj to accompany them to abandoned railway quarters nearby. There, three of the juveniles assaulted him with sickles, inflicting injuries on his head, hands and face, while the fourth filmed the assault on a mobile phone. The video was later uploaded on social media, police said.
Suraj reportedly lost consciousness and later managed to reach the main road, where passersby alerted the police. He was initially taken to the Tiruttani Government Hospital and subsequently referred to the Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital, and later treated at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai. He has since left for Odisha after informing the authorities.
Police clarified that Suraj was not a migrant worker and had been moving around Tamil Nadu, particularly along the Chennai-Tiruttani line, for the past two months. As the victim did not know Tamil, an ex-serviceman assisted the police in recording his complaint in his language, which was later translated.
Four juveniles, described as children in conflict with law and all aged 17, were apprehended and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. They were booked for attempt to murder, and three of them have been sent to a place of safety in Chengalpattu, while one has been released into the custody of his parents as per the discretion of the JJ Board, Garg said.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that all four juveniles are school dropouts. Police traced them based on the assault video circulating online and a tip-off, finding them near the Gangai Amman temple along the Tiruttani-Arakkonam bypass, where they were allegedly consuming alcohol.