2 from right-wing outfit among 4 held for assaulting migrants
Based on the complaint lodged by the migrant workers, police registered a case against the four accused under sections 294 (using obscene languages) 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Four people, including two members of a Hindu right-wing outfit, were arrested for allegedly assaulting migrant workers in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore city, police said on Monday.
The incident occurred around 8.30pm on Sunday, when the four accused had gone to a restaurant where some workers from a jewellery shop, all residents of West Bengal, were also dinning, a senior police officer told HT.
The main accused, identified as Surya alias Murugan, tried to provoke the workers and asked them questions in Hindi. “But, they responded in Tamil,” the officer said. “…Their verbal exchange turned into an argument and Surya punched a worker on his face and the four of them escaped on two bikes.”
The four accused later stopped at another eatery, where they beat up another man, the officer said, adding that they hit two more people on their way home. “During investigation they said that were drunk, but they seem to have grudge against workers from West Bengal who are preferred in Coimbatore for the high precision job in the jewellery workshops…,” the officer added.
The incident came days after Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin assured the safety of all migrant workers in the southern state. Tamil Nadu has been alarmed for the past two weeks amid rumours and fake videos of migrant workers being attacked in the state making rounds on social media.
Based on the complaint lodged by the migrant workers, police registered a case against the four accused under sections 294 (using obscene languages) 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Coimbatore city commissioner V Balakrishnan said: “We have arrested four people. One person named Prakash has given a statement that he belongs to Hindu Munnani... Another man named Surya alias Murugan says that he was in the Hindu Munnani.”
Balakrishnan, who held a meeting with migrant workers from West Bengal on Monday night and assured them of their safety, added: “These workers have been here for 15 to 20 years. We have been in touch with them regularly which is why they immediately reached out to us last night (Sunday).”
