Two persons held for feeding gutka to a baby

Two commuters were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Jolarpet railway station in Tirupattur on Tuesday for allegedly feeding gutka to a child.

Police said the arrested persons have been identified as B. Sivakumar, 57, and Puthagunda Reddy, 38. They are residents of Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. Initial investigations revealed that the duo was traveling in an express train towards Bengaluru from Chennai when fellow passenger R. Murali, 39, a resident of Jolarpet, saw Sivakumar allegedly feeding a small amount of gutka to a one-year-old child on the train.

Police said the child belongs to V. Raj Khan, 28, and Harina, 26, a native of West Bengal. The couple worked as wage laborers in Kerala. They were on their way to Karnataka to visit relatives. The couple was asleep when the incident occurred.

Police said there was an argument between Murali and the couple on the train. A video of the incident, including the child being fed gutka, surfaced on social media, sparking public outrage. Police said Murali sought help from a child helpline. A case has been registered at Jolarpet railway station. The arrested persons have been lodged in a sub-jail in Tirupattur town. The affected child was treated at Government Taluk Hospital in Tirupattur where doctors said he is stable. A probe is underway.

Published – 22 Jul 2026 0:56 IST