ROURKELA: A man and his brother-in-law were brutally assaulted over bursting of crackers at Puranibasti hamlet of Swidihi village within Lathikata police limits.
The video of the incident that occurred on Friday evening has gone viral on social media. Reports said the victims, Shankar Lohar (45) and his brother-in-law Parsuram Minz, were reportedly bursting firecrackers at their house. However, their neighbours including Ganesh Lohar, his son Avinash and others of their family took offence and assaulted the duo with axe and sticks. The video shows one of the victims being dragged out, made to sit on the ground and assaulted with the butt of an axe. An irate youth is seen trying to attack one of the victims who lies curled on the ground with an axe, but was prevented by others from doing so.
After the brutal attack, Shankar who was en route to police station to lodge a complaint was again allegedly beaten up by some youths. Basing on Shankar’s complaint, while Ganesh was arrested, the others are still at large.
Sources said out of fear, the victim’s family has shifted to nearby Jalda. A group of villagers on Monday met Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani and urged him to ensure the safety of the victim and his family and action against the culprits. Local police claimed the accused and the victim’s families were at loggerheads over a land dispute. A couple of days after the incident, Shankar was discharged from RGH while Parsuram is still undergoing treatment.