On Tuesday (September 26), an Indian armed force personnel was taken into police custody for falsely claiming that a mob of 6 people attacked him and inscribed the word ‘PFI’ on his back.
The man identified as Shine Kumar had previously claimed that he was assaulted and tortured by extremists belonging to the now-banned outfit, Popular Front of India (PFI) in Chanapara near Kollam on Sunday (September 24) night.
He had alleged that the mob tied up his hands with tape and wrote ‘PFI’ on his back. It has now come to light that Kumar staged the attack along with his friend.
#WATCH | Police take one person into custody in Kadakkal, in connection with the complaint of army personnel alleging he was attacked by six persons and 'PFI' painted on his back pic.twitter.com/V0wOR72YkW
— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2023
A senior police officer told PTI that the man wanted to become famous and therefore staged the entire attack. Kumar’s friend told the media, “I was drunk, so I initially wrote DFI, but he (Kumar) said to write PFI. So I made it PFI. Then he asked me to beat him up, but I said I couldn’t because I was drunk.”
He further added, “Then he asked me to drag him on the ground and lay down, but I could not in my intoxicated state. So he asked me to tape his mouth and hands and then to leave. So I did that.”
While speaking about the matter, the police said that no arrests have been made so far and that the statements of the army solider and his friend were being recorded. “Further action would be taken after verifying the contents of their statements,” a senior official added.
The cops are now verifying the various reasons cited by Kumar for staging an attack on himself. They have also seized green paint, tape and brush from the house of the army soldier’s friend.
