Soldier among four arrested for attack on Malayali youth in Tennessee due to mistaken identity

Kochi: Four Malayalis, including a soldier, have been arrested for attacking a group of youths in Tamil Nadu on the basis of mistaken identity. The arrested have been identified as Vishnu, Ramesh Babu, Ajayakumar and Sivadas, all hailing from Chittur in Palakkad. Police suspect that they attacked the four youths, all hailing from Pattimattom, believing that they had black money in their car.

However, police are clueless as to how Vishnu, a soldier of the 21st Battalion of the Madras Regiment, is involved in the incident. He was supposed to return to duty on April 4 but has not returned yet. According to police, there are no previous cases against him.

The youths were attacked near Coimbatore on the Kochi-Salem highway by masked assailants who had advanced in three cars. They vandalized the car in which the youths were travelling. The incident took place a few days ago. The victims had also posted a video of the attack.

The attack occurred when the youths were on their way home. The armed attackers stopped the vehicle, threatened them and then smashed their vehicle. The attackers then drove away quickly. The Tamil Nadu Police Team, which was a few meters away, was immediately informed.

A white Innova car with Kerala registration number first knocked on their car door, then stopped in front of it and some of the attackers surrounded them. At this point, the attackers in another car behind them started hitting the rear of their car. Then the masked attackers got out of the Innova car and attacked their vehicle with weapons. After that, they immediately drove away.