Nagaland tattoo artist assaulted by local youths in Pune  

Guwahati: In a shocking incident, a 26-year-old freelance tattoo artist from Nagaland and his friends were allegedly assaulted by a group of men at Kondhwa in Maharashtra’s Pune.

According to reports, the incident took place on Thursday when tattoo artist Benrushen Menthing Lemo was enjoying tea with his friends, Chingthu Pom and Boto Sumi, at Achin's hotel near his residence around 8:30 PM.

Lemo stays at Shivnerinagar under Kondhwa police station in Pune.

Without any provocation, three unidentified boys on a scooter approached the group and slapped Chingthu on the cheek, triggering a verbal altercation.

The situation escalated quickly as more of the assailants' friends arrived. They verbally abused and physically assaulted Lemo and his friends, with one wielding a wooden stick. Chingthu sustained a blow to the forehead, and Boto was struck on the cheek by a thrown stone, causing a wound and bleeding.

Amidst the chaos, a local resident, K Lal Dampuri, came to their aid. However, facing the threat of further violence, the group was forced to flee the scene, losing their mobile phones in the process.

Alerted by locals, the police soon arrived and identified the primary assailant as Umar Shaikh. The victims, accompanied by the police, went to Kondhwa Police Station to file a complaint after receiving medical treatment at Sassoon Hospital.

The police have registered a case against Umar Shaikh and unidentified accomplices under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including unlawful assembly, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt (with and without weapon), intentional insult, mischief causing damage, and assault.