Ferozepur: A 27-year-old man was murdered and his limbs were chopped off by suspected henchmen of a liquor baron who is said to have political links.
An arm and a leg of another were also severed in the attack which took place on Friday. 14 persons have booked for murder, police said on Sunday.
According to police, Bhim Sen and Gurjant Singh Janta were allegedly attacked by a group of men led by one Harpreet Harry after a heated exchange broke out between Sen and Harry on Friday night at a farm house in Abohar subdivision area. Both legs and arms of Sen were chopped off while an arm and a leg of Janta were severed, a police official said, adding that both were rushed to a private hospital where Sen was declared brought dead. Janta is in critical condition, he added.
The accused are suspected to be workers of liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda, who is said to be member of a prominent political party in the state. Harry, Raja, Radheyshyam, Wazir, Gulab, Chhajju, Simran, Happy and 6 unidentified persons have been booked under various sections, including Section 302 (murder), of the IPC in connection with murder of the youth, police said.
After the attack, villagers set several liquor shops belonging to Doda on fire and demanded that a murder case be registered against him and his nephew Amit as well.
Senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar and BJP state secretary Sandeep Rinwa visited the hospital and expressed solidarity with the aggrieved community. Prayer meetings were held on Sunday in the memory of Sen.
Meanwhile, heavy police force has been deployed in the town as the situation remained tense on Sunday.
Police said investigations in the case were going on.