Sohna erupts as 28-yr-old is beaten,dragged and left to die on road

The incident sparked angry protests on Wednesday as residents placed Bijender’s body in the middle of the road,affecting traffic on the main Sohna road for hours. Protesters damaged dumpers and passing vehicles.

Shop owners downed shutters,bringing the entire Sohna area to a standstill. The protesters dispersed only after police reached the spot and promised to act against the attackers.

On Tuesday night,Bijender was returning home to Abheypur from Gurgaon with his brother,Sandeep. “When they reached Sohna Chowk,they stopped the car at a shop to buy a bottle of water. As they were leaving,five persons stopped them. One tried to grab the bottle. When Bijender resisted,they started beating him,” said Pratap Singh,his uncle.

The attackers,Singh alleged,also called some of their friends who were partying nearby. After they assaulted Bijender,they dragged him to the middle of the road and left him there. Sandeep,who managed to flee from the spot,alerted the family. “By the time we took him to hospital,he had succumbed to injuries,” Singh said.

“A PCR van was deployed at the spot,but the men in it refused to intervene,” said Vikram Singh,a resident.

The body was sent for a post-mortem examination to the Sohna Civil Hospital. Police personnel were deployed in the area in large numbers. Police cordoned off the road from Bhondsi Chowki to Sohna,diverting traffic.

“We will take strict action against the accused. We are also investigating whether policemen in the PCR van refrained from taking any action. They will be punished,if found guilty,” said DCP (East) Maheshwar Dayal.

But Dayal denied the possibility that the incident was the result of a fight over a bottle of water. “Bijender did stop to purchase a bottle of water,but the argument he had with the assailants must have been over something else,” he said.