CHENNAI: An elderly man was allegedly attacked by a gang, including two women, in broad daylight, at Thousand Lights. The video taken by a bystander is going viral.
On Saturday evening, the victim Gabriel (65) was sitting in front of his apartment at Sudhandhiram Nagar. “Around 6 pm, a Scorpio car with DMK flag, reversed in his direction. As the car hit a two-wheeler, Gabriel waved at the car to stop. At this moment, a group of men got down from the car and started beating him up,” said a police officer.
Gabriel’s son Francis alleged that the attack was due to previous enmity and that the gang includes a family member, Manikkam, a DMK functionary.
The video that was shot by a bystander showed how one man held Gabriel’s hand, while the others including women, were hitting him. While one of the men took a cardboard piece and was hitting the victim, the neighbours stood around watching with none of them coming to his rescue.
Police said, in 2017, Francis’s friends celebrated his birthday in front of his house and were attacked by the same gang as they wanted to establish their supremacy in the area. “Then seven were arrested in the case and now they have come back again for revenge,” added the police.
Police said Manikkam, his wife Vetriselvi, mother Selvi, son Prathesh and their relative James were present at the spot. One of the neighbours informed the police and the Thousand Lights police rushed to the spot. They have registered a case and collected CCTV footage from the locality where the incident occurred. “Action will be initiated at the end of investigation,” said police. The video which is going viral also shows the women abusing the girl who took the video.