DHARMAPURI: Four people have been booked by the police after a video showed a farmer had been tied up and beaten by a group in the late hours of Thursday.
The assaulted farmer has been identified as R Devaprakasam (42).
The video caption states that a farmer from Boothanahalli in Nallampalli taluk was tied to a tree and assaulted by a group of people over the functioning of a local quarry in Nallampalli.
However, the Adhiyamankottai police, who investigated the matter, stated, "It was a problem between family members, and there was no issue with the quarry."
Police officials told TNIE, "The incident has been misrepresented on social media. This is an issue between family members. Devaprakasam had been at odds with his relatives and neighbours over some land issues. On Tuesday, Devaprakasam had abused his relative A Chinnasamy (27), and in retaliation, a group led by the latter attacked Devaprakasam. A case has been registered against four people under BNS 296(B) and 118(1) for using obscene words and causing injuries."
Police warned the public not to spread rumours on the incident.
"There are rumours that the incident was a retaliation by people linked to a quarry as people have been opposing the illegal mining occurring there," police stated.