Pulled out nails, given electric shocks: Chhattisgarh factory owner, others torture employees over suspicion of theft; five held

RAIPUR: Abhishek Bhambi and Vinod Bhambi were accused of theft and was tortured by Chhotu Gurjar, the owner of the ice cream factory they worked and his partner Mukesh Sharma on April 15.

Both Abhishek and Vinod, hailing from Bhilwara district in Rajasthan, were hired through a contractor to work at a Korba-based ice-cream factory.

Both were stripped, beaten, given electric shocks and their nails were pulled out, a police official said. The video of the torment has gone viral on social media, showing a semi-nude man being beaten and given electric shocks.

The two victims managed to escape to their native place in Bhilwara, where they lodged a complaint at the Gulabpura police station.

“The Rajasthan Police registered a "zero" FIR and forwarded the case to the Korba police for further action. The FIR was lodged at around 9 AM on Friday, and the Korba police swiftly acted and by noon arrested five accused seen in the video," Siddharth Tewari, Korba district police chief told TNIE.

"They will be produced before the court. Two of those arrested are said to be the factory owners, while others are their associates. One of the accused is a minor," he added.

The Zero FIR can be filed in any police station irrespective of the place where the crime has been committed or the jurisdiction of the police station.

The civil lines police station in Korba registered a case on Friday against Gurjar and Sharma. Besides the other sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to the crime, the Korba police also slapped a section on the ST-SC Prevention of Atrocities Act against the accused.

According to the police official privy to the matter, one of the victims Abhishek Bhambhi, reportedly asked for Rs 20000 as an advance from his employer, citing the need for paying the loan instalment of his vehicle but was declined. Following the refusal, Abhishek expressed his decision to quit the job, which infuriated the accused owner.