Two men were arrested by Government Railway Police at Jolarpet railway station for allegedly feeding gutka to a one-year-old baby on a train traveling from Chennai to Bengaluru.
The arrests took place on Tuesday. Police identified the men as B. Sivakumar, 57, and Puthagunda Reddy, 38, both residents of Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. They were traveling in an express train when fellow passenger R. Murali, 39, from Jolarpet, saw one of them feeding gutka to the child.
The baby belongs to V. Raj Khan, 28, and Harina, 26, who are from West Bengal and work as wage laborers in Kerala. The couple was asleep during the incident. An argument followed between Murali and the two men, and a video of the event later appeared on social media.
Murali contacted the child helpline. A case was registered at Jolarpet railway station. The men were lodged in sub-jail in Tirupattur. The baby received treatment at Government Taluk Hospital in Tirupattur and is reported stable. An investigation continues.
