Chennai: Today is the third day since the brutal attack on RR Anbu Biriyani Unavagam’s owner happened in Virugambakkam and still the locality is reeling with fear. To make matters worse, the goons, who did the nasty job, are still in hiding and police are on their toes to nab them.
DMK working president M K Stalin personally visited the shop Thursday and comforted the injured staff. On this occasion, one of the shop’s co-owners, R R Tamil Selvan, spoke to News Today about what really happened.
Excerpts:
Q: What actually happened?
A: On 28 July (Saturday), around 10 pm, when DMK president Karunanidhi was being treated at Kauvery Hospital, a group of 10 men, most probably with a political background, entered our shop and asked for biriyani to be served free of cost to all of them. My brother Prakash, who is also a co-owner of the shop, was at the counter and refused to accede to their request. This lead to a fierce argument following which one of the men, Yuvaraj, slapped my brother.
When our shop waiter Karunanidhi (27) tried to defend my brother, Dhivakar, another goon, tried to choke him. When Prakash tried to defend Karunanidhi, he received blows from Yuvaraj. Others also attacked him. In the melee, Nagaraj (60), our shop staff, also got injured.
Q: How are the victims now?
A: We admitted all three to a nearby hospital. My brother Prakash has got four stitches on his forehead and three on his nose as Yuvaraj, who is said to be a trained boxer, punched him on the face several times. As far as Karunanidhi and Nagaraj are considered, they suffered minor injuries and were discharged from the hospital.
Q: Yuvaraj is known to you?
A: Yes. He is a local rowdy and roams around, flexing his muscles. Many a time he has complained about and fought with Prakash over the quantity of biriyani served and the number of meat pieces in it. But till this recent incident, there wasn’t any physical violence. We believe that he had a personal grudge against us which reached its peak last Saturday. We believe it was a pre-planned attack.
Q: Do you know Yuvaraj has a political background?
A: Yes. In the past, he was part of many Hindu outfits and used to roam around with another rowdy in Thoothukudi. Later, people said he joined the DMK in a top position. I don’t know much about Dhivakar and the others who were with him during the assault. Also, our shop is not the only one to be affected in the locality, Yuvaraj has created tension and fear in many shops in the neighbourhood.
Q: What measures did you take after the assault?
A: At first, we uploaded the CCTV footage on social media, which gained massive public support. Then, we filed a case with the Madras High Court following which the city police Commissioner and DC visited our shop and assured all possible help. DMK working president M K Stalin also visited our shop on Thursday and assured support. He said he has permanently removed the goons from the party. We want all the rowdies to be arrested soon.
Q: Do you have any plans to safeguard your shop from attacks in the future?
A: As of now, no plans. As far as I am concerned, such incidents are part of every business and we can’t do anything about it. It lies in the hands of the government and police to curb this menace. Maybe, we will be more vigilant hereafter, by having more CCTV cameras and phones to inform the police immediately.
Q: Has business been affected post the incident?
A: No. Business is running fine as usual. In fact, it has been thronged by more people now due to the sympathy we have gained from the attack.
| Seven arrested |
| Police have so far arrested seven of the 10 accused in the assault. The arrests come shortly after DMK working president M K Stalin visited the restaurant and expressed his support to the owner and staff. The main accused, DMK Youth Wing secretary K L Yuvaraj and member Divakar, who’ve since been suspended from the party, are, however, still absconding. |