THANJAVUR: The Pappanadu police on Tuesday arrested six caste Hindus for allegedly assaulting a Dalit youth at his residence late on Monday for owning a high-end bike.
According to sources, N Pachilin, a 21-year-old Dalit of Vellur who works at an eatery in Pappanadu, on Monday night was returning home from work on his bike when T Gopinath (30) of Nemmeli waylaid him.
Gopinath allegedly told Pachilin that those from his caste should not ride costly bikes. Pachilin replied that he bought the bike and had the right to ride it, and rode to his house. Past midnight, Gopinath along with five others confronted Pachilin at his house and allegedly assaulted him with logs as well as their bare hands.
The gang also hurled caste-based abuses at him, sources said. Managing to flee the spot, Pachilin reported the incident to the Pappanadu police in the early hours of Tuesday, sources said.
Following this, the police registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and arrested Gopinath, V Likanthan (21), A Sarathi (23), M Arunkumar (23), K Udhayan (21) and A Prahadeeswaran (21) on Tuesday.