KRISHNAGIRI : Krishnagiri taluk police booked cases against 25 villagers in three different complaints lodged by village administrative officers (VAO) and arrested eight people, including a 17-year-old boy, on Thursday in connection with the attack on five workers from Assam on Wednesday.
Based on a counter-complaint from a villager, police booked kidnapping and woman harassment case against a worker who was attacked.
P Dillibabu, CPI (M) state committee member, said the incident would be brought to the notice of party leaders in Assam.
Following rumours that a child was kidnapped by migrant workers, a group of villagers from Sembadamuthur attacked five people hailing from Assam on Wednesday afternoon. The suffered serious injuries and were admitted in Government Krishnagiri Medical College Hospital.
Based on complaints from VAO of Betthathalapalli, Goolium and Marimanapalli, 25 villagers were booked under IPC sections 147, 148, 294 (b), 323, 324 and 506 (ii). Among them, eight persons, including a teen boy, were arrested. The boy was produced in front of the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a juvenile home and others to prison.
Meanwhile, based on a complaint from V Sowmathi (25) of Mettuparai village, a case was filed against a guest worker under the Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act.
SP P Thangadurai warned people against spreading rumours against migrant workers. Inspectors across the district have been directed to conduct awareness against fake news about migrant workers and conduct meetings with elected representatives in all 333 panchayats.
People can lodge complaints at help line 100 or 94981 81214 or 94981 01090 if they spot suspicious people in their neighbourhood, he added.