A soldier was allegedly beaten up near his home here on Sunday night by six persons and ‘PFI’ was written on his back with green paint, the police said on Monday.
The alleged incident occurred near his house at Kadakkal here on Sunday night when the soldier was returning home on his motorbike, the police said. It also said that Military Intelligence personnel had reached the spot and would directing the investigation into the alleged assault. The soldier is posted in the Indian Army’s Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) Corps. The alleged incident occurred on the last day of the vacation of the soldier, the police said.
An FIR under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC was lodged during the day against six identifiable persons, the police said, adding that it was not yet clear whether any outfit had any role in the alleged incident.
Soldier’s complaint
An officer of the Kadakkal police station said that according to the soldier’s complaint, he saw some persons standing near his house while he was returning on his motorbike. They said somebody was lying drunk in a nearby rubber plantation and asked the soldier whether he knew that person, the complaint said.
“He said he accompanied the men to the rubber plantation and on reaching there, someone kicked him from behind, tied his hands, and beat him up. They then wrote ‘PFI’ on his back with green paint,” the officer said.
PFI generally refers to the Popular Front of India, an organisation that was banned by the Union government last year. The police noted that there were no injuries on the soldier.
They said that the soldier was set to return to his unit at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on Sunday, but was presently taking rest at home after being discharged from the hospital.
