A youth was blindfolded and canned by his friends for reportedly stealing money from one of their house in Thanjavur. Upset over the incident, the youth consumed poison and is critical. He is being treated at the Medical College and four of his friends have been arrested. 

G Rahul (22) from Poondi Mela theru near Ammapettai in Thanjavur went to his friend Lakshmanan's house at Konur village near Ammapettai on February 1. After Rahul left, it is alleged that Rs 30,000 in cash went missing and Lakshmanan suspected Rahul of stealing. So, he called a few of his friends and took Rahul to a secluded place and questioned him. 

Though Rahul repeatedly told them that he had not taken the money, Lakshmanan and his friends blindfolded Rahul and beat him badly with a stick. One of them recorded a video of the incident during which Rahul continued to plead his innocence. 

On Wednesday, Lakshmanan's friends uploaded the video on social media which went viral. Rahul too had watched the video and was upset about being called a thief, he allegedly consumed poison on Wednesday night. His family members, however, rescued him and rushed him to the Thanjavur Medical College hospital where he has been undergoing treatment. 

Meanwhile, a section of media reported that Rahul, a dalit, was assaulted by a group of upper caste Hindus. This created unrest among the people. But the police led by Ammapettai inspector Subbulakshmi who investigated the case found that all the members involved in the incident were dalits. “They were friends and there is no chance for caste discrimination as they all belong to the same community," Subbulakshmi said. She also said that they were working as coolies in the sand quarry in the locality. 

In the meantime, the police received a complaint from Rahul on Thursday and secured Lakshmanan’s friends Vickey (25), Rajadurai (24), Parthiban (25) and Sarath (24) all from Konur village. A detailed investigation is underway.