The Hill Palace police on Monday arrested four persons on the charge of assaulting a woman after trespassing into her rented house in an attempt at forcible eviction.
The arrested were identified as Kalluvaayil Solomon Thomas, 65, the house owner, his friend and lawyer Dileesh John, 39, Prince alias Rince, 40, and Pramod, 39.
A running dispute between the house owner and the tenant ended in the ugly incident at the former’s house in Thripunithura where Shylaja, 70, a widow, and her son were living on rent.
The police said that there was no written agreement between the parties regarding the duration of the rent period. Mr. Solomon had asked Shylaja to vacate the house two months ago.
“The owner had approached the police seeking eviction of the tenant. We sent him back saying that the police could not carry out any such eviction unless there was a court directive,” said J. Raj Kumar, Station House Officer, Hill Palace.
Later, both the parties agreed to a two month-period within which Shylaja was to move out. However, she could not find another house within the period and continued to live there.
Reportedly, there was another argument between the two parties following which the woman lodged a petition with the police. However, on returning, she found her house occupied by four men, including the owner, and her possessions dumped outside.
“When the woman asked them to move out, they assaulted her under the influence of alcohol. We took them into custody and restored the house to her,” said Mr. Kumar.
