Five arrested for assaulting two youths in Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Five youths were arrested on Wednesday for assaulting an acting driver and his friend early on Tuesday near the Ukkadam-Valankulam junction.

The arrested youths were identified as H Ruseeth, 23, S Jaffar Sadiq, 21, both from Kottaimedu, M Mohammed Asif, 20, S Mohammed Nasruddin, 21, and A Mohammed Muzammil, 20, all from Ukkadam.

Police said H Jerome Arputharaj, 25, from Yercaud in Salem, an acting driver who resides near Puliyakulam in the city and his friend Sudhakar were attacked by a gang around 1 am. Six youths on two motorcycles waylaid the MPV they were travelling in and assaulted the duo. They also damaged the windshields of the MPV with helmets and snatched a mobile phone from Jerome before fleeing.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that three of the arrested were about to hit the MPV with their motorcycle and Jerome questioned them about it leading to the assault. Jerome and Sudhakar suffered injuries in the assault and received treatment at a hospital. They later lodged a complaint with Race Course police who registered a case.

Police subsequently arrested five of the accused and remanded them in judicial custody. A special police team has been formed to nab one other accused who is absconding.