A physically-challenged man was allegedly assaulted by the railway police, who mistook him to be a child trafficker, at the railway junction here on Thursday.
The victim, Kumar, a father of two and a resident of Salem, said that he, along with two of his relatives, was on his way to Salem from Mettupalayam. They had five children in their group, of which two were his.
However, while they were waiting for train, his relatives left their children with him and went to have lunch.While he was waiting for his relatives , railway police personnel, who came to the spot, started questioning him. Later, he was picked up and taken to the police station along with the five children.
Meanwhile at the station, Kumar alleged that he was assaulted by the policemen with lathis. “Though I told them that all the kids belonged to my family, police kept beating me up. They accused me of being a child trafficker,” said Kumar.
Denying Kumar’s charge, Railway police inspector Lawrence said that the public suspected him to be a child trafficker and assaulted him. Kumar, along with his family, was taken to the station of the railway police and was later escorted to the railway station after questioning.