CHENNAI: On Tuesday, a gang of students of Pachaiappa’s College was filmed chasing and attacking a rival gang on busy Poonamallee high road in Arumbakkam in full public view. The video of the blood-chilling incident that took place outside the D.G. Vaishnav College stop, had gone viral on social media. Two students S. Mathan and Surithi were arrested late in the evening.
Police said Vasantha Kumar (19), a second-year B.A. Philosophy student of Pachaiyappa’s College, suffered severe injuries during the attack. First, he was taken to a private hospital in the area from where he was shifted to the Stanley Government hospital, as his health condition deteriorated. The video appears to have been allegedly filmed by employees and the public from a shop located close to the scene of crime.
According to police, a few students of Pachaiappa’s College left the college around 1. 30 pm and boarded an MTC bus on route number 29E to Koyambedu. When the bus plying between Perambur-Thiruverkadu, stopped near DG Vaishnav College bus stop in Arumbakkam, the rival gang waiting in the bus stand wielding machetes, began to attack students. A few students started chasing one student throwing knives at him, but he escaped unhurt and fled the spot.
The students then came back to the bus to attack Vasantha Kumar who was still inside the bus. They dragged him out of the bus and attacked him brutally, inflicting serious injuries on him. Passengers in the city bus were terror struck, when the student groups attacked each other with long knives. Before police could arrive, the students had fled the spot. However, two students who were present at the spot, were detained by the police for questioning.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that students who attacked the duo studied in the same college and the attack could be due to previous enmity. Sources also said the attack was due to ‘route Thala’ problem between Poonamallee and Parry’s Corner route students.
Police registered a case and a special team of police headed by Mount DC Muthuswamy, is conducting enquiries with the staff and students of the college. Police said the attackers were being tracked with the help of CCTV cameras installed in the locality. The gang members are yet to be identified, police added.
It may be recalled that only last month, 10 students of the same college were detained by the Chennai city police for celebrating bus day and creating ruckus by dancing on the roof of a moving bus.
