COIMBATORE : Pollachi East police arrested three people on Saturday for allegedly assaulting a man after they thought that he was part of a child trafficking gang.
The arrested were identified as P Thamban, alias Rajendran (35); K Guna (27); and Karuppusamy (25), all residents of Thannasiyappan Kovil Street at Pollachi. Rajendran is a sanitary worker at the Pollachi Municipal office.
The investigation revealed that S Vignesh (29), a resident of Naduvakurichi village in Thoothukudi district, has been working in a fruit shop in Pollachi for the last six years. On Friday, around 8.45 pm, Vignesh was on his way to the shop when three people who were under the influence of alcohol waylaid him and started to assault him thinking that he was a child trafficker. No one informed the police and admitted him to the Pollachi government hospital for treatment.
Later, based on Vignesh’s complaint, the Pollachi East police registered a case against the trio arrested them on Saturday morning, and remanded them to judicial custody.
In yet another incident, Tiruppur rural police arrested a man on Saturday for spreading rumours on social media about child trafficking.
The arrested has been identified as R Arivazhagan from Moolanur. Police said that he allegedly circulated fake video messages on social media about a migrant worker being assaulted for child trafficking on Friday.
Tiruppur rural cybercrime police registered a case against Arivazhagan under sections 153 and 505 (1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code.
He was arrested on Saturday and remanded to judicial custody.