Eight identified and 40 unidentified people were booked for allegedly tying a labourer to an electric pole and thrashing him over an old rivalry on the Tibba road on Friday night, said police.
The accused also tried to place drugs in his pocket with the intent of falsely implicating him in a drug case. When the kin of the victim tried to intervene, the accused thrashed them as well.
The victim was identified as Sahibjit Singh, 21, of Gurmel Park, who paints houses and buildings.
Sahibjit has lodged a complaint against the accused and police have initiated investigation. The police have booked Rohit, Lucky, Rani, Gabi, Happy, Gaggi, Nitish Rana and Neeraj in the case. As many as 40 unidentified accomplices of the accused have also been booked.
In his complaint, the victim said that the accused nursed a grudge against him following an altercation with his family members. On Friday night, when he was commuting on the Tibba road, the accused, who were in an inebriated condition, were thrashing one of his friends, Fattu.
When he tried to intervene, the accused overpowered him, tied him to a pole and started thrashing him. The accused also assaulted him with a sharp-edged weapon, he told the police.
{{/usCountry}}When he tried to intervene, the accused overpowered him, tied him to a pole and started thrashing him. The accused also assaulted him with a sharp-edged weapon, he told the police.
{{/usCountry}}The accused then called around 40 of their accomplices to the spot. When the victim’s father, Vijay Kumar, and uncle Rajesh Kumar came to his rescue, the accused thrashed them as well.
When the accused were attempting to place a drug in his pocket, more people started gathering on the spot and the the accused had to flee. The victim’s family members rushed him to a hospital and informed the police.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Bhupinder Singh, investigating the case, said an FIR has been registered under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A search is on for the arrest of the accused, the ASI said.