Ludhiana: Nine days after a 26-year-old businessman was allegedly stabbed over 20 times with an icepick by a banker and his accomplice at Chauri Sarak, the victim succumbed to his injuries at Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on Friday.
The victim has been identified as Jaspreet Singh Bawa, a resident of Model Town. He ran a garment shop at Akalgarh Market in Chaura Bazaar.
His friend, Dheeraj Mehta, who was also injured in the attack, is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Following Bawa’s death, the Division Number 3 police have added section of murder in the FIR lodged against the accused, Sandeep Kumar, a banker, and his accomplice, Pankaj.
The duo is currently lodged in Ludhiana central jail on judicial remand. At least eight unidentified accused, who were also booked in the case, are at large.
Role of police has been under scanner from the day of attack.
Though Bawa was assaulted on May 27, the police took two days to register a case under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Sandeep, Pankaj and their eight unidentified accomplices.
Vikramjit Singh of New Model Town, the complainant in the case, had told the police that he worked at HDFC Bank, along with Dheeraj, one of the victims. Sandeep Kumar, who also worked in the bank, indulged in a feud with Dheeraj, who shared the matter with Vikramjit.
{{/usCountry}}Vikramjit Singh of New Model Town, the complainant in the case, had told the police that he worked at HDFC Bank, along with Dheeraj, one of the victims. Sandeep Kumar, who also worked in the bank, indulged in a feud with Dheeraj, who shared the matter with Vikramjit.
{{/usCountry}}“Dheeraj had asked Sandeep to come to Chauri Sarak to resolve the matter amicably on May 27. Therefore, I, along with Dheeraj and one of his cousins, Jaspreet Singh Bawa, reached Chauri Sarak in front of an eatery,” Vikramjit claimed.
He alleged that as soon as Sandeep and Pankaj ,along with their eight accomplices, appeared there, they opened attack on them with sharpedged weapons, adding that the group stabbed Bawa with an icepick over 20 times, and also injured Dheeraj.
The incident was captured on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed outside the eatery.
Inspector Rajinder Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Division Number 3 police station, said the police had added murder section in the case, adding that while two accused had been arrested, efforts were on to identify and arrest the remaining accused.