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Kanpur Horror: Blinded, made disabled & tormented by begging mafias, man pleads for justice
Suresh Manjhi was recently dumped from a vehicle by his tormentors near his slum settlement after finding him “unfit” for begging.
KANPUR: It sends a shiver down his spine just to recall the brutalities he suffered in the past six months. Still in a state of trauma and disbelief, Suresh Manjhi was recently dumped from a vehicle by his tormentors near his slum settlement after finding him “unfit” for begging.
A daily wager from the Yashoda Nagar slum cluster of Kanpur, 24-year-old Manjhi was abducted by a gang about six months ago. Subsequently, the accused subjected Manjhi to heinous crimes. After intoxicating him, the gang injected a chemical in his eye to make him blind, cut all fingers of his hand and a foot, and assaulted him to leave injury marks on several parts of his body. All this to make him “suitable” for begging.
“The gang sold me off to a woman for ₹70,000. Later, I was taken to Delhi in the Gorakhdham Express by a man named Raj. When in Delhi, I was dropped to a point to beg. They would give me and other beggars like me just two chapatis a day to ensure that we stay skinny and invoke pity. They would torture me every day and inject something in my body,” Manjhi recounted in horror.
The cruelties got to a point where Manjhi’s body could take no more. He developed an infection and became unable to even beg for money. His buyers now wanted Manjhi’s replacement. “I was sent back to Kanpur in a train. The gang tried to sell me once again but after a few failed attempts, they dumped me on the road, where I lay unconscious for a few days. Finally, cops took me to a hospital and reached out to my family,” added Manjhi.
The monstrous crime has shaken the city police too. “He has been through a lot. It was inhuman to say the least. We are making all efforts to bust this notorious gang. A case has been registered against unidentified accused under relevant IPC sections,” said BP Jogdand, commissioner of police, Kanpur.
In a similar vein, DCP Kanpur South Pramod Kumar said, “Manjhi has given us the names of the accused. Police are trying to establish their identity and their addresses.”
Police have also constituted several teams to crack the case at the earliest possible as justice remains Manjhi’s only hope. “I am not their only victim. There were many like me. I never saw such brutality even in movies. The culprits should be brought to justice before they destroy the life of anyone else.”
