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The Secretariat Colony police in Chennai on Friday, September 12, arrested two men under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly assaulting, stripping, and verbally abusing a 17-year-old Dalit teen who had gone to meet a girl at her relatives' residence.
The arrested men have been identified as Saravanan, reportedly a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary, and his brother Logesh. Police said the incident took place after the girl’s relatives confined the boy in a room and then called Saravanan for intervention.
The boy, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) Hindu Adi Dravidar community, and the girl, who is from the Most Backward Class (MBC) Vanniyar community, had been friends for years. Though they later joined different schools, they continued to stay in touch through social media.
When the boy went to visit her, Saravanan and Logesh allegedly stripped and assaulted him. Police said Saravanan also made casteist slurs during the attack. The boy is currently undergoing treatment at Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital.
The police have registered a case against the accused, under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Sections 296(b) (obscene act or singing), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 109(1) (attempt to murder) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).