Milkman poisoned by sweetmeat shop owner in Ludhiana

The sweetmeat shop owner owed the milkman around ₹2.5 lakh and poisoned his food to avoid paying it; the two belonged to the same village in Ludhiana and had appealed to the panchayat

A sweetmeat shop owner murdered a milkman, whom he owed ₹2.5 lakh, by offering him a dish laced with poison, police said on Wednesday.

The accused called the victim to ostensibly clear his dues but poisoned him. The victim was rushed to a hospital in Ludhiana where he succumbed. (Representative Image/HT File)

The complainant, Sukhwinder Singh, a friend of the victim, Baljeet Singh, 40, said, “The accused, Uma Dutt, who bought milk from Baljeet was not clearing his dues. Baljeet had also raised the matter before the panchayat, and Uma had promised to pay the money he owed.”

“On September 25, Uma Dutt had called Baljeet to his shop to collect the money. However, later I received a call from Baljeet saying that Uma had not cleared the dues and he was feeling uneasy after having cholle bhature offered by Uma,” he said.

“My nephew and I picked up Baljeet, who was vomiting continuously. We rushed him to a hospital at Doraha, where he died on September 27,”he added.

Inspector Rohit Sharma, an SHO at the Daba police station said the police had launched a manhunt for the arrest of the accused and a case of murder had been lodged against him.