Ludhiana: Bizman, friend attacked over court testimony in murder attempt case

According to the complainant, the incident took place on May 5 when he was sitting at his dairy unit along with his friend Gurpreet Singh

Two bike-borne men attacked a dairy owner and his friend with sharp weapons at Tajpur Road in Ludhiana and threatened them against appearing in court to testify in a three-year-old attempt to murder case, police said on Friday.

During the investigation, police allegedly found that the collision was part of a planned conspiracy. (HT File)

The Division number 7 police have registered an FIR against the unidentified accused on the complaint of Gaurav Malhotra, a resident of Mehdudpura Mohalla, who is a witness in a case involving murder attempt on his son.

According to the complainant, the incident took place on May 5 when he was sitting at his dairy unit along with his friend Gurpreet Singh. He alleged that two unidentified men arrived on a motorcycle and warned him not to appear before the court to record his statement in the pending criminal case. The accused allegedly attacked both men with sharp weapons before fleeing from the spot.

After the attack, the complainant approached the police and lodged a formal complaint. ASI Malkit Singh, investigating officer, said a case under Sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 118 (1) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation ) and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against unidentified persons and efforts are underway to identify and arrest the accused.

Gaurav Malhotra told police that the attack was linked to an earlier case registered on June 30, 2023, when his 14-year-old son was severely injured after being allegedly hit deliberately by two bike-borne men owing to some old rivalry among the young ones.

Initially, the police registered an FIR under Sections 279 (reckless driving), 337 (negligent acts that endanger human life or personal safety) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by rash or negligent acts that endanger human life or personal safety) of the Indian Penal Code on July 8, 2023. However, during the investigation, police allegedly found that the collision was part of a planned conspiracy, following which Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the IPC were added to the case.

The complainant alleged that since he is a key witness in the attempted murder case, the accused have been targeting and intimidating him.