- A man accused of theft was publicly assaulted in Ludhiana, Punjab by vigilantes
- The victim was tied to a pole outside a bank and physically beaten
- A placard calling him a thief was attached, and his hair and eyebrow were shaved
A distressing incident of vigilante activity has been reported in Punjab's Ludhiana, where a group of individuals allegedly took the law into their own hands and thrashed a man accused of theft.
According to reports, the victim was restrained and taken towards a local bank's premises. In an act of public shaming, the individuals involved tied him to a pole outside the building and subjected him to physical assault.
The group also attached a placard to the victim's chest declaring him a thief. "Mai chor hu" (I'm a thief) was written in Hindi and Punjabi on the placard.
The group also forcibly cut the victim's hair and shaved a portion of his eyebrow.
They also recorded a video and shared it on social media platforms.
Witnesses and footage suggest that the victim was coerced into making a confession while being held in a state of confinement.
As the videos of the assault went viral, the police registered a case on June 10.
An FIR was registered against the unidentified suspects under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The charges include Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 127 (wrongful confinement), Section 352 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace), and Section 351 (criminal intimidation), along with provisions related to unlawful assembly.
Police officials stated that they are currently utilising digital forensic tools to identify the individuals seen in the video.
