Faridabad: Army personnel, kin assault neighbour by branding him thief

Akash Kushwaha is undergoing treatment at the Badshah Khan civil hospital in Faridabad and suffered nine fractures, police said

An army personnel and his family assaulted their neighbour in Faridabad on Monday by dragging him into their house, accusing him of theft, and beating him with rods and sticks, causing more than nine fractures, police said on Thursday. The attack was reportedly an act of revenge over a three-year-old dispute, carried out after the armyman returned home on leave, police added.

The attack was reportedly an act of revenge over a three-year-old dispute, carried out after the armyman returned home on leave, police added. (Representational image)

Two of the five accused have been arrested, identified asJyoti (single name), 32, and her motherBrahmwati (single name), 55. Monu Gujjar, the army personnel,and two others are on the run, police said. The victim, Akash Kushwaha, 26, has suffered more than nine fractures in his limbs, police said.

“Three years ago during a dispute, the accused threatened Kushwaha that they would make him a handicapped person. So during the assault on Monday night, they only targeted Kushwaha’s limbs. They could not carry out the threat for three years because Gujjar was away on army duty, and so the family bided their time. When Gujjar returned home on leave recently, the family decided to take their revenge,” said a police officer associated with the case.

Kushwaha is undergoing treatment at the Badshah Khan civil hospital in Faridabad. Investigators said doctors have plastered his four limbs for temporary relief but will carry out multiple surgeries to fix them.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of the Faridabad police, said that Kushwaha worked in a private firm and was parking his motorcycle in front of his house in Sundar Colony in NIT Faridabad when the accused attacked him.

“One of the accused put his hand on Kushwaha’s mouth to prevent him from raising the alarm. They dragged Kushwaha inside their house while shouting that they had caught a thief, and assaulted him. They snatched and broke his phone when he tried to alert his family. They assaulted him with rods and sticks, targeting his limbs,” Yadav said.

The accused later alerted police and when a team reached the spot, they found Kushwaha unconscious, police said. The accused told police that Kushwaha was a suspected thief, police said. “Kushwaha was unconscious but his brother arrived on the scene and told police that the assault was the fallout of an old dispute. We rushed Kushwaha to a hospital for treatment,” he added.

Based on a complaint from the victim, a first information report was registered against the accused under sections of the Bharatiya Nayay Sanhita on Tuesday.