COIMBATORE: Two persons were arrested and a hunt was on for two more for allegedly beating up two college students for giving a lift to a girl at Karumbukadai on Tuesday night. The four moral policing suspects reportedly barged into the girl’s house, held the two boys hostage and manhandled them. The crackdown came based on a complaint from the girl, who alleged that the four suspects assaulted them and robbed a mobile phone. She claimed that the quartet had also humiliated them in public.
The Kuniyamuthur police registered a case under sections 341, 342, 294 (b), 323, 324, 506 (ii) of the Indian Penal Code and section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002. Suspects M Safiullah (44) of Karumbukadai and S Muhammad Ibrahim (44) of Kurinji Nagar in Kuniyamuthur were arrested.
Sources said the girl lives with her widowed mother at Anna Colony in Karumbukadai and is in a relationship with her college mate R Yoganandh (19) of Peelamedu. On July 2 the complainant, clad in a veil (burqa), went to college to receive her transfer certificate (TC). While coming back, Yoganandh and friend Dilipan gave her a lift. They were traversing through Puttuvikki Road and were at Athupalam around 5.30 pm when two persons waylaid them. The duo allegedly berated the girl for travelling with Hindu youth.
The duo accompanied the youngsters to the girl’s house, kept the two youth at knife-point and beat them up in front of the complainant’s mother. The assailants reportedly kept the duo in their custody till 9.30 pm, during which they were beaten up with a belt and slapped. A police official said that the girl had claimed that she could identify the assailants. A probe was on.