Youth dies day after being attacked by gang, 15 held

Verbal fight over ‘rash driving’ turns ugly; security beefed up in area
Representational image.
Representational image.

MADURAI: A day after a 22-year-old youth was beaten up by a group of Dalit assailants, he succumbed to injuries at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here on Monday. Sources said that the police had arrested 15 people in connection with the death of S Rambu (22), a resident of A Kovilpatti near here. 

According to the police, Rambu and Subash were riding a bike home after attending a drama organised at Kodukanpatti on Sunday. Around 10.30 pm, the two were traversing through a stretch in a predominantly Dalit settlement in the village when they were intercepted by a group, which reportedly took away the keys of the bike. A quarrel broke out, with the group claiming the duo was riding in a rash manner and the riders demanding the keys back.

Even as the verbal tiff was raging, Subash reportedly left the scene and came back with two friends – Thivagar and Thangaiya. Soon, the verbal tiff snowballed into a free-for-all. The group reportedly assaulted Subash, Rambu and friends with logs and stones, leaving the four persons grievously injured. While Rambu and Thangaiya were taken to the Government Rajaji Hospital, Subash and Dhivagar were rushed to the government Melur hospital. Rambu succumbed to injuries on Monday at the GRH and his body was sent for postmortem. 

Meanwhile, the police 
registered a case and arrested 15 people. Village sources said that tension had been simmering between the communities for a long time, but this was the first time that a person was killed. Security has been beefed up in the area to prevent the issue from escalating.

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