CHENNAI: A fourth-year engineering student was attacked by the public, when they found him breaking the cctv camera inside an ATM centre near Koyambedu here on Tuesday morning. The public allegedly thrashed the man, tied his hands and made him lie on the ground. A passerby had also taken a video in which the man was seen clad in a blue T- shirt and lying on the floor and crying. His hands had been tied at the back and the public was swearing at him and trying to kick him.
Two policemen were seen trying to convince the crowd not to hit him and finally took the man to the station in their patrol vehicle. In the video, the front side of the ATM machine was also seen damaged and open. Inquiries revealed that the student had come to withdraw money from a private bank ATM near Chennai Metro Rail at Koyambedu.
“The student, was allegedly depressed for the last one week over his project. On Tuesday morning, around 9.30 he had fought with his mother and come to the ATM on his father’s bike. He allegedly broke the cctv camera inside the ATM centre in frustration, when another person who had come to withdraw money spotted this and alerted everybody. Since, the ATM is situated on the main road, in minutes, public gathered and immediately attacked him and tied his hands before they handed him over to police,” a police source said.
After inquires, police found that the person’s father is a headmaster in a government school and his mother a nursing superintendent in a government hospital. “The boy was depressed over completing his project and has been angry for the last one week which could have led him to give vent to his frustration,” said the officer. The bank officials were informed and the parents promised to replace the camera. No case was registered.