Man set afire in Ludhiana market, probe on

The victim was identified as Gurdeep Singh, 55, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar who runs a cloth shop in Guru Teg Bahadur Market.

In a complaint to police, Taranjit Singh, brother of the victim, said that his brother was sitting in his shop when motorcycle-borne two masked men came there. They poured petrol on his face and set him afire.

Meanwhile, cloth bales kept in the shop also caught fire. The local residents gathered there and rushed him to the hospital. They also doused the flames and informed the police.

Taranjit Singh added that the accused were caught on the CCTV cameras installed near the shop.

Inspector Gurshinder Kaur, SHO Model Town police station, said that the victim was not in a condition to record his statement.

Suspecting an old rivalry behind the incident, police have initiated a probe and started scanning CCTV footage to identify the assailants.

The police are also scanning former employees of the shop, the SHO said, adding that things will be clearer after recording the statement of the victim.

ASI Baldev Singh said an FIR was being registered under Section 326A and 34 of IPC. The man has sustained 50% burns according to doctors at DMCH, he added.