DMK cadre arrested, expelled after video of him thrashing woman goes viral

Chennai: A local DMK functionary allegedly thrashed a woman at a beauty parlour with a video of the incident going viral, leading to his arrest and the party sacking him from primary membership.

In the short video which went viral Thursday, the man clad in a white shirt and dhoti is seen repeatedly kicking the woman and pushing her down in the parlour in Perambalur, about 300 km from here. A few other women present attempted to stop him, but he continued the assault.

Though it was not clear when the incident occurred, the man, identified as S Selvakumar, a DMK functionary in Perambalur district, was arrested and produced in a court which remanded him to judicial custody, police said.

While the DMK first announced his suspension in a release Thursday, later party President M K Stalin said Selvakumar had been removed from the primary membership. Announcing the expulsion on social media, he warned of stern action against cadres who indulge in such “anarchy”.

The incident comes close on the heels of a DMK local functionary and others assaulting staff of a restaurant here with a video of it going viral. Stalin had then suspended Yuvaraj and another person and later visited the hotel and enquired about the health of those injured in the July 31 incident.

The group of men led by the DMK functionary had attacked the staff after they told them that the restaurant was closed for the day and hence cannot give them food. “Strong action will be taken against anyone bringing disrepute to the party,” Stalin had tweeted.