Ludhiana: Family ‘harassed’ for refusing to buy balloons, 13 booked

According to police, three of the accused have been identified as Dhruv Khatri of Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, Hans Saini and Roshan Anand, while the remaining 10 are yet to be identified

The Dugri police have booked 13 people for allegedly assaulting a salon owner, his family and an employee over a trivial issue in the Phase 1 market of Dugri, police said. The accused also allegedly molested the salon owner’s wife, harassed his daughters and vandalised the family’s car before fleeing the spot, they added.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of the salon owner’s wife. (HT File)

According to police, three of the accused have been identified as Dhruv Khatri of Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, Hans Saini and Roshan Anand, while the remaining 10 are yet to be identified.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of the salon owner’s wife. She stated that on December 14, she, her husband, their two daughters and an employee had stopped at the Phase-1 market to buy eatables.

According to the complainant, some balloon sellers approached her daughters and repeatedly insisted they buy balloons. When the girls refused, the balloon sellers began harassing them. When her husband intervened and asked the balloon sellers to leave, the accused—who were present outside a gym in the market— attacked him.

The woman further stated in the complaint that during the assault, the accused molested her and vandalised their car before fleeing. The family then lodged a police complaint.

ASI Amolak Singh, the investigating officer, said a case was registered after verification. The accused have been booked under Sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 324(4) (mischief), 76 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).efforts are on to arrest the accused, he added.