Odisha worker attacked with sickles in Tamil Nadu; four juveniles arrested

New Delhi: Four 17-year-old boys have been arrested for a brutal sickle attack on a 20-year-old migrant worker from Odisha near Tiruttani railway station in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district, in an incident that has reignited concerns over anti-migrant hostility and the vulnerability of “outsiders” in the state’s public spaces.

The assault, recorded and circulated online, has triggered a political storm over law and order, narcotics, and what opposition parties describe as a climate where migrants can be targeted, humiliated and left bleeding while attackers treat the violence as content.

The victim, identified as K Suraj, was travelling on a Chennai–Tiruttani suburban train on the evening of December 26 when the juveniles allegedly threatened him inside the coach. Police said the teenagers appeared intoxicated and were filming the intimidation for social media.

Investigators said Suraj objected and resisted, after which the group forced him off the train at Tiruttani and dragged him to a secluded spot near the tracks. 

Three of the boys allegedly hacked him repeatedly with sickles on his head, face and left arm while the fourth filmed the attack, police said.

The viral clip, widely shared on Instagram and X in filtered formats, shows the attackers surrounding the bloodied victim, with one of them flashing a “victory” sign beside him. 

Suraj suffered deep injuries and was rushed first to a government hospital in Tiruttani and then shifted to Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital, where he later stabilised, officials said.

Police said they used station CCTV footage and the uploaded reel to identify and detain the suspects the same night near the Gangai Amman temple on the Tiruttani–Arakkonam bypass, where they were allegedly found drinking.

The boys, all residents of Nemili near Tiruttani and described as school dropouts, were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. Three were sent to the Chengalpattu juvenile reformation facility, while one, described as a student, was granted bail, officials said.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including attempt to murder, and police said they are examining whether the juveniles have prior criminal involvement and how the weapons were procured.

Police have said, at this stage, they have not found evidence of a racial or regional motive and are treating it as violence driven by intoxication and “performative” online behaviour. 

But opposition leaders have disputed the attempt to reduce the incident to “reel culture”, arguing that extreme violence against a migrant worker cannot be divorced from a broader pattern where outsiders become soft targets.

BJP leader K Annamalai condemned the attack and alleged that the DMK government has failed to rein in a mix of drugs, street violence and hostility towards migrant workers. BJP leaders said the episode points to deeper social acceptance of attacking “outsiders”, with the added threat of online glorification.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the video was chilling and questioned how teenagers could allegedly carry deadly weapons, film a migrant being hacked, and still treat it like a spectacle. AIADMK leaders also linked the case to what they called unchecked drug access among minors and demanded tougher action.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, whose party is allied with the DMK, suggested a statewide police “show of force” operation, including intensified vehicle checks and surveillance of habitual offenders, to restore public confidence.

DMK calls it isolated, cites swift action

DMK leader T K S Elangovan described it as an isolated incident and pointed to the speed of arrests, saying large numbers of migrant workers live and work in Tamil Nadu and remain safe. DMK sources, however, privately argued that the case is being amplified for political mileage.

Migrant safety back under scrutiny

Tamil Nadu attracts migrant labourers from Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states for construction, manufacturing and services. 

While the state’s economy depends heavily on this workforce, episodes like the Tiruttani assault sharpen anxiety over whether migrants receive equal protection, and whether attacks on them are too quickly explained away as “random crime” or “youth prank”.

Critics said the most disturbing aspect is not only the brutality but the performance: a migrant being filmed, struck, left bleeding, and then turned into viral content. They argue that such violence thrives when attackers believe a migrant can be targeted without immediate social costs.

Police said investigations are continuing, including scrutiny of the juveniles’ digital activity, intoxication, and the source of the sickles, while the case remains a flashpoint for opposition parties targeting the Stalin government over governance and public safety.