Man assaults migrant workers with plastic pipe for not paying rent, held

CHENNAI: A 40-year-old man who allegedly attacked migrant labourers with a plastic pipe for not paying rent has been arrested by the city police after the video went viral on social media. The accused has been identified as K Sureshraj (40) from Sarojini Street in Thirumudivakkam. Police said that Sureshraj, a district functionary of DMDK, had rented out his houses to migrant labourers who work in industries.

“They had not provided rent for the past two months because they were unemployed due to Covid restrictions. The men were planning to leave for their native places this week. On Sunday, Sureshraj, who came to know that they were leaving, went to their rooms asking for rent,” a police officer said.

During the argument, Sureshraj picked up a 3-ft plastic pipe and started hitting the men. A labourer shot the video and it went viral on social media on Tuesday. The 24-second video shows Sureshraj scolding the men as they kneel with hands folded and plead with him to let go of them.

At the end of the video, Sureshraj hits a man in the back. Based on the complaint from P Pradeep Kumar Jana (25) of Odisha, the Kundrathur police arrested Sureshraj on Wednesday.