The Villupuram police have detained 30 men in connection with the brutal attack on Aathi Suresh, a reporter with Velicham TV.
Suresh, 43, was attacked on Thursday night, by a group allegedly led by a local functionary of MDMK, C Sathya. Suresh, who belongs to the Scheduled Castes (SC), was on his way back home after dropping his wife, a constable, at the police station for night duty, when the incident happened. According to a close friend of Suresh, the group of men attacked Suresh with iron rods and knives, causing serious injuries on his head.
“There has been friction between these men and Suresh since March 17, when he had filmed and telecast a news segment alleging that a group led by Sathya, had vandalised an image of Dr BR Ambedkar in a school near Ulundandarkoil area. The day after Suresh’s news report appeared, Sathya issued death threats to Suresh. Based on Suresh’s complaint, the Ulundurpettai police had registered an FIR against Sathya on March 19, arrested him and let him out on station bail,” says Suresh’s close friend. Adding that Sathya was the Villupuram district secretary of MDMK’s Engineers Wing, the friend said that the friction between Suresh and Sathya continued.
On Thursday, Suresh was near his home when the attack happened. As Suresh crumbled onto the ground unable to bear the blows, the attackers fled the scene thinking that Suresh died. However, passersby spotted Suresh lying in a pool of blood and alerted the police station and rushed him to the Mundiyambakkam government hospital for treatment.
Based on Suresh’s statement on Friday, the police have detained 30 men in connection with the attack in four different police stations in Villupuram district.
Speaking to TNM, a police officer at the Ulundurpettai station said that an FIR has been registered based on Suresh’s statement under sections 294B (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 307 (Attempt to murder) of the IPC. The police have also added provisions of the Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to the FIR since Sathya belongs to the Vanniyar caste, a dominant caste in certain parts of Tamil Nadu. The police also said that senior officers are conducting an inquiry on the case and arrests will be made after the inquiry.
“Suresh has been administered 13 stitches on his head injury and he also has a broken arm. We want justice for Suresh and hence urge the police to take strict action against the accused,” Suresh’s friend told TNM.