Man steals 2 bags of wheat from truck, driver ties him to bonnet, drives 1.5km to police station

The alleged thief, identified as Bhura Ali, worked on the truck as a labourer who helped ferry grains. On Sunday afternoon, he was nabbed by Zail Singh, for stealing the two wheat bag from the same vehicle. Zail then proceeded to tie Bhura up to the bonnet of the truck, and is later seen on video sitting next to him even as the truck was driven to the Muktsar police station from Abohar Road — a distance of around 1.5 km. In the viral video Zail can also be heard saying,”We are taking him to the police station as he stole two bags of wheat,” before the driver proceeds to check the pockets of Bhura. The video of the incident was captured and uploaded by a bystander, leading to outrage on the socail media.

As per details, Muktsar police on Sunday booked Bhura booked under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code, but took no action against the errant drive Zail Singh. On Monday, however, after the video of the incident went viral, the police swung into action and lodged an FIR against the truck driver Zail Singh on charges of endangering life and personal safety of a person — a bailable offence.

Navpreet Singh , station house officer of Muktsar city police station said,”The actual driver of the vehicle was sitting on the bonnet of the truck along with the suspect. The vehicle was driven to the police station by someone else.”

Sources stated that the some members of the truck drivers’ union had gathered at the spot when Bhura was being tied to the bonnet and had threatened to stage a dharna if any action is taken against the driver.

Details also revealed that both both Zail Singh and Bhura Ali belonged to the scheduled caste community.

Bhagwant Samao , president of Mazdoor Mukti Morcha said ,”It is surprising how the driver was charged with a bailable offence. He violated the human rights of a person but was merely booked on charges of endangering life and personal safety and managed to obtain bail from the police station and walked out. Bhura Ali, on the other hand, was arrested and sent to judicial custody after being tied up to the front of a vehicle and paraded in the city. We demand stringent punishment for the truck driver as well as no one is allowed to take law into their hands.”

Opinderjit Singh Ghumman, SSP of Muktsar, while confirming the incident said ,”We booked the truck driver as he should not have brought an alleged thief to the police station like that. He has been booked with charges of endangering life and personal safety of a person. In addition to this, we have also found a second video in which Bhura Ali is allegedly spotted stealing the wheat bags from the moving truck. He has been booked on charges of theft.”