Assaulting tribal youth in Agali; accused held from Coimbatore

PALAKKAD: The accused, who assaulted a tribal youth in Attappadi, have been taken into custody. The youth was brutally assaulted after tying him to a post. Rejin Mathew from Sholayur and Vishnudas of Alappuzha were taken into custody from Coimbatore. Shiju of Chittoor tribal colony in Agali was tied to a post and beaten. He was assaulted for jumping in front of their vehicle. He suffered injuries and sought treatment at Kottathara Hospital.

The incident that happened on May 24th at Kattekad in Chittoor came to light yesterday through social media. Shiju had tripped over a rock and fallen in front of a pickup van that was collecting milk from local dairy cooperatives and transporting it to the Milma dairy. The driver and the cleaner, accusing Shiju of deliberately jumping in front of the vehicle, assaulted him. In retaliation, Shiju threw a stone that shattered one of the vehicle’s windows. In response, the driver and cleaner dragged the youth along the road, tied him to an electric post and beat him again before driving away. Acquaintances who passed by later untied Shiju and admitted him to Kottathara Hospital. His body bore rope marks from being tied tightly.

After the videos went viral and public outcry followed, the Agali police recorded Shiju's statement. He said he did not know the attackers and had never seen them before. The pickup van owner, Jimson, also filed a police complaint accusing Shiju of blocking the vehicle and damaging it by throwing stones under the influence of alcohol. The visuals of Shiju breaking the pickup van's mirror was also released.