TIRUCHY: A seven-member gang allegedly assaulted and abused a 27-year-old man belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community for marrying a woman from the Most Backward Class (MBC) community before abducting her near Maravanur in Tiruchy late on Saturday, police said.
The Manapparai police arrested three people in connection with the incident, rescued the woman and reunited her with her husband.
Efforts are under way to trace the remaining suspects.
The arrested accused were identified as P Murugesan (38), his brother P Prakash (28), both from Kattupatti village in Manapparai taluk, and M Malaisamy (29) from Mudukkupatti village in Marungapuri taluk.
They have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
According to police, A Chithiravalli (26) is from Sithanatham village. She worked at a private plastics store in Manapparai owned by her brother-in-law, Murugesan.
She became acquainted with P Ajithkumar (27), and the two were in a relationship for about two-and-a-half years. Chithiravalli belongs to the MBC community, while Ajithkumar is from the SC community. When their relationship came to light, Chithiravalli's parents strongly opposed it.
Despite this, the couple continued their relationship and married on June 25 without their parents' consent. On the same day, they submitted a petition to the Manapparai All Women Police Station seeking protection. The couple had since been living in Sithanatham.
Meanwhile, Murugesan, Chithiravalli's brother-in-law, lodged a complaint with the Manapparai police on July 1, alleging that he had a dispute with Ajithkumar.
Ajithkumar, his wife and a relative appeared at the police station in an autorickshaw on Saturday in connection with the inquiry.
However, Murugesan did not appear.
After completing the preliminary formalities, Ajithkumar submitted a written request and left the police station with his wife and relative.
While they were returning home, Murugesan, Prakash, Chithiravalli's brothers Malaisamy and Alagar, along with three unidentified people who arrived in a car, allegedly intercepted the autorickshaw near Maravanur on the Dindigul-Tiruchy National Highway.
They allegedly abducted Chithiravalli, verbally abused Ajithkumar using caste-based slurs, assaulted him, threatened to kill him and fled the scene. A video of the incident was later shared online.
Based on Ajithkumar's complaint, the Manapparai police registered a case and arrested Murugesan, Prakash and Malaisamy. They were remanded to Tiruchy Central Prison on Saturday night.
Police rescued Chithiravalli and reunited her with Ajithkumar.
A search is under way for Alagar and the three unidentified suspects, who remain absconding.