

CHANDIGARH: A 40-year-old man, Shakti Singh Bhura, died after a group of assailants “brutally” attacked him at the house of his acquaintance, chopped off his hand with a sharp-edged weapon and later handed the severed limb to a grocery shop owner in a bag in the Daba area of Ludhiana.
Police said that five to six armed assailants barged into the house near the Redu Sahib gurdwara in the Daba area and attacked Shakti Singh alias Bhura with swords and sharp-edged weapons.
The house owner, an acquaintance of the victim, was also assaulted when he tried to intervene.
“The attackers severed one of Singh’s hands, put it in a white polythene bag, and handed it over to a grocery store owner nearby, telling him to deliver it to the victim’s family,” said a police official.
Sources added that the assailants chopped off his hand and later handed over the severed hand to a shopkeeper on Street Number 9 in Satguru Nagar. They added that the friend of the deceased was also allegedly attacked by the assailants. The injured Shakti was later taken to Civil Hospital, where he died.
Station House Officer of Daba, Inspector Jatinder Kumar, said that the initial investigation indicates that the attack stemmed from personal enmity.
He added that the names of some individuals with whom the victim frequently associated have surfaced during the probe, and their roles are being verified. The deceased had 12 cases against him, and the assailants also had around the same number of cases against them.
Assistant Police Commissioner Roopdeep Kaur said that after registering a murder case, one of the accused had been arrested.