Stalin government faces backlash as shocking train assault video surfaces in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are facing backlash over poor law and order in the state after a video showing juveniles wielding a sickle went viral on social media. Tamil Nadu police have apprehended the teenagers.

According to police, the teenagers, all aged 17 years, attacked a migrant worker from Maharashtra while travelling to Tiruttani on December 26. In the video, the juveniles in conflict with the law are seen threatening the migrant worker with a sickle. The teenagers apparently shot videos of the attack to grab eyeballs on social media. 

The migrant worker, identified as Suraj (34) of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, reportedly suffered cut injuries in the attack. According to police, Suraj was given first aid at a local government hospital and later shifted to the Tiruvallur Government Hospital for further treatment.

Police said that the four juveniles were intoxicated at the time of the incident. They also dragged the victim to a secluded area near the railway quarters and was attacked, as he resisted inside the train. 

The Tiruttani police registered a case and launched an investigation. Surveillance footage from cameras near the railway station and a video clip showing the assailants threatening the victim with a knife on a train bound for Tiruttani were examined, police told PTI.

The ruling DMK is facing backlash over the incident, with the Opposition accusing the state government of failing to control the drug menace in the state. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram urged the police to take decisive action in the matter. "This 'Pullingo' menace in Tamil Nadu must be crushed with an iron hand," he tweeted.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the "video related to this attack sends chills down my spine". "It's utterly shameful that hands that should be holding schoolbooks are now wielding machetes," he charged.

Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) targeted the DMK over the incident and said, "This incident itself stands as witness to the unprecedented surge in the prevalence of narcotics in the state."

"Narcotics being freely available even at the gates of schools and colleges is leading our state's future pillars—the youth—down a path of destruction. Murders, robberies, and sexual assaults committed at the peak of intoxication have now become daily news," they charged.