Two men were arrested in Erode on Sunday for allegedly removing postal articles from a postman’s bicycle and throwing them into a drain while under the influence of alcohol.

According to the police, Suresh, a Postal Department employee, was delivering mail in Kamala Nagar under the Karungalpalayam police station limits on Saturday when the incident occurred. The accused allegedly took postal articles from the carrier box attached to his bicycle without his knowledge and threw them into a nearby drain.

When Suresh and members of the public questioned their actions, the duo allegedly picked a quarrel and created a disturbance in the area.

Based on a complaint lodged by the postal employee, the Karungalpalayam police registered a case and arrested Arun alias Gopalakrishnan and Prakash, both from Karungalpalayam. They were remanded in judicial custody.

The Erode district police said social media reports claiming that the accused were under the influence of ganja were inaccurate and clarified that the two were drunk.