Victim’s family fears it may be targeted next

"Before abandoning my father at Mira Road, they told him that if he complained to the police, they would harm his family," said Geeta Verma, the 24-year-old daughter of Doodnath Verma on Tuesday.

"Before abandoning my father at Mira Road, they told him that if he complained to the police, they would harm his family," said Geeta Verma, the 24-year-old daughter of Doodnath Verma on Tuesday.

"We are extremely traumatised. My mother has hardly spoken since she learnt of this," Geeta said.

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Doodnath lives in the Gokuldham area of Goregaon (East) with his wife, Anita, and three children - Geeta; Ajay, 16, and Vijay, 19. His family claims he had been having arguments with a few builders in the recent past and suspect that these men must have plotted the attack. After Doodnath's statement to the police, names of the three builders were added to the FIR registered with Kashimira police station.

"The builders had been threatening him over the past few months. They would send messages through middlemen and had also threatened my father in person," Geeta claimed. She said the family is worried about its safety. "Until yesterday, we were unaware of what they were capable of. Now that they have threatened to harm him and us again, we are scared for our safety. You never know what they might end up doing," she said.

Divyesh Yadav, Doodnath's lawyer said, the estate agent had sustained multiple fractures to his leg. "There is a bandage around his eyes since the abductors poured acid into it. He regains consciousness at times, but doctors have kept him under observation."