KOCHI: Two youths were brutally assaulted by a three-member group for questioning the latter over a minor accident at Aluva on Saturday. Elookara natives Muhammad Naseef and Muhammad Bilal, both 19, were attacked by an auto-rickshaw driver and his two friends near the Aluva overbridge.
The arrested are Vishnu, 34, of Aluva, Jijin Mathew, 34, of Iritty and Rajesh, 42, of Kalamasery. The incident took place around 4.30 pm when a recklessly driven auto-rickshaw caused a minor dent in the car in which Nafees and Bilal were travelling. Despite gesturing, Vishnu, who was driving the auto-rickshaw, didn’t stop, and hence the duo chased the vehicle and questioned him near the overbridge.
During the altercation, Vishnu and the co-accused tore Nafees and Bilal’s clothes before hitting them in their faces. They later attacked the duo with stones. Though they tried to escape, the gang followed them. Both were kicked in their faces and slapped near the Aluva auto-rickshaw stand.
When they both finally managed to escape, Vishnu broke the windshield of the car using a stone.
The duo is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Aluva. They had filed a police complaint, based on which a probe was initiated. Ernakulam Rural police chief Vivek Kumar constituted a team and tracked down the accused.
“We examined videos of the incident and CCTV footage using which we identified the accused. All three are arrested. They were in an inebriated condition when the incident took place. The trio is involved in multiple criminal cases. Vishnu was not wearing a uniform and was driving recklessly. Hence, steps have been initiated to suspend his driving license,” said a police officer.