Duo suspect man of harassing friend, assault him on beach

CHENNAI: Two persons were arrested on Tuesday for assaulting private company executive N Sivakumar (38) at Elliots Beach in Besant Nagar on Monday. The arrested were identified as K Vinod (25), a BPO employee, and S Ashraf (27), a textile showroom executive.
Police said Sivakumar is the Bangalore-based area sales manager of the BPO company where Chitra, a former colleague of Vinod and Ashraf, is an executive.He came to the city on a business visit and took her to meet some clients. Chitra, who had worked with Vinod and Ashraf at a BPO firm in the city before moving to a firm in Sholinaganallur, remained friends with the duo and let them know of her busy schedule with Sivakumar.
On Monday evening, Chitra told Vinod and Ashraf that she and Sivakumar were going to the Elliots Beach. Around 6pm, Vinod and Ashraf went to the beach on their bike and searched for the duo. The duo found them, went straight to the spot and hit Sivakumar in the face, allegedly because they thought he was harassing their friend. The beach was crowded with many people at the time. Before Sivakumar could react, the duo ran towards the service lane where they parked their bike, police said after questioning the two youths.
Meanwhile, some beachgoers chased the duo. Vinod and Ashraf abandoned their bike and fled the scene. Sivakumar, who suffered injuries to the face, later lodged a complaint at the Sastri Nagar police station. Police personnel found the bike.
“We traced the owner of the bike through the Regional Transport Office (RTO) concerned and found that it belonged to Vinod. He was picked up for inquiry and later, his friend Ashraf was also nabbed. On questioning, the duo revealed the trivial reason for attacking Sivakumar,” south Chennai joint commissioner of police K P Shanmuga Rajeswaran said.
The Sastri Nagar police registered a case under IPC Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and 323 (assaulting with hands) against the duo. They were remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.