A Brahmin youth’s family in Tirunelveli alleged on Saturday that unidentified assailants on motorcycles forcibly cut off his sacred thread, prompting a visit from Union Minister L Murugan at his home. However, an investigation, including analysis of CCTV footage, has found no evidence of the incident, with the police issuing a statement to this effect. The complainant, M Sundar, 58, alleged that his differently abled son, Akhilesh, 24, was approached by four individuals on two motorcycles at around 4:30 pm on September 21, while he was heading to a religious event at Asthiga Samaj, a Brahmin community centre nearby their home. Sundar alleged that the assailants not only cut off his son’s “poonool” but also warned him not to wear it again. According to the complaint, Akhilesh was en route to participate in a bhajan (devotional singing session) when the alleged incident took place in Thyagaraja Nagar. Sundar reported the alleged incident to the Perumalpuram police that evening, and it was recorded in the Community Service Register (CSR), which typically logs non-cognizable offences and complaints pending further investigation. The next day, the incident gained attention in right-wing circles in the state, and Murugan, the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, visited the family on Monday. Murugan, speaking to the press afterwards, said, “This attack is deeply troubling. The law and order situation in Tamil Nadu is in a dire state, and incidents like these must not be allowed to continue.” The Tamil Nadu Brahmins Association called the incident “deeply offensive” and said “Brahmins will not be cowed down by such attacks”. K Kutralanathan, state secretary of the right-wing Hindu Munnani, posted online, “If the police hesitate to act, the public will be forced to chase down and thrash these perpetrators.” However, the Tirunelveli City Police issued a statement on Monday denying that any such incident had taken place. According to the police, a team reviewed CCTV footage from the location of the alleged attack and surrounding areas and found no evidence of four motorcycle-borne individuals snatching Akhilesh’s sacred thread. The police also said that interviews with bystanders and local residents had failed to corroborate the account. “Based on the available evidence, there is no basis to the claim that Akhilesh was accosted and his sacred thread was snatched by any individuals on two-wheelers,” the police said. Speaking to The Indian Express, Akhilesh’s father Sundar said he was initially reluctant to file a complaint as his son is differently abled and could not describe the incident in a way that might require a police probe. “That is the problem here. I was reluctant to file the complaint, fearing that it would ultimately be concluded that no such incident has happened for lack of evidence. But after the police were informed about the incident by Samaj officials, they reached the spot and requested that I file a complaint as they cannot ignore such an incident. Now, the police are saying the very thing I feared – that nothing happened. But I am sure something occurred, as he was seen walking there at 4:27 pm and seen running back after four minutes. I’m not sure what happened in between. That entire night, he was unsettled, crying aloud, saying he was threatened not to wear the poonool. He is yet to come out of that shock,” Sundar said.
