Ludhiana: A week after assault, delivery boy succumbs to injuries; cops invoke murder charge in FIR

Victim was attacked by a group of over 20 men on Jassian Road on Feb 1; five accused arrested so far

A week after being brutally assaulted by a group of at least 24 men, a 19-year-old delivery boy succumbed to his injuries on Sunday after battling for life for seven days, prompting the Haibowal police to add murder charges to the case.

Shubham Nayak was attacked for allegedly opposing the harassment of his friend’s sister, police said. (HT File)

The victim, Shubham Nayak, a resident of Rajouri Garden, was attacked in the Jassian Road area on February 1 for allegedly opposing the harassment of his friend’s sister, the police said. Following his death, Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been invoked in the FIR, a police official said.

According to the police, the incident occurred when Shubham was riding his motorcycle near his house. Nearly two dozen youths, allegedly armed with swords and daggers, intercepted him and launched a coordinated assault. He was left critically injured before the assailants fled the spot. Shubham was rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, where he remained under treatment before succumbing to his injuries on Sunday.

Earlier, on February 2, the Haibowal police had registered a case under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons), 191(3) (rioting while armed with deadly weapons), 190 (unlawful assembly) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS. The FIR named accused Ritik, Manish, Rishav, Sumit, Jatin, Rishi, Ankit, Krishna, Manish, Rishabh and Sumit, along with 13 unidentified persons.

The complaint was lodged by the victim’s father, Lakshmidhar Nair, who alleged that his son had been threatened earlier and that the attack was carried out following a conspiracy. He said the accused assaulted Shubham and fled, leaving him bleeding on the road.

Jagatpuri police post in-charge ASI Sukhwinder Singh said five of the accused have been arrested so far and would be produced in court to seek police remand. “Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the remaining accused,” he said.

After a post-mortem examination on Sunday, Shubham’s body was handed over to his family.