Nails pulled out, electric shocks given: Chhattisgarh workers brutally tortured by employer over theft suspicion

Two workers at an ice cream factory in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district were allegedly tortured by their employer and his aide, who pulled out their nails and gave them electric shocks on suspicion of theft, police said on Saturday, as reported by PTI.

The victims, Abhishek Bhambi and Vinod Bhambi, are originally from Bhilwara district in Rajasthan. They had been hired through a contractor to work at an ice cream factory in the Khaprabhatti area. The factory is owned by Chhotu Gurjar and falls under the Civil Lines police station limits.

On 14 April, Gurjar and his associate Mukesh Sharma accused the two of stealing. The men were reportedly stripped, tortured with electric shocks, and had their nails pulled out. A shocking video of the assault has now gone viral, a police official told PTI.

Victims escape, FIR filed

After the incident, the two victims managed to flee and return to their hometown in Rajasthan. There, they filed a complaint at Gulabpura police station.

Since the crime took place in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan Police registered a zero FIR, a special kind of FIR that can be filed at any police station regardless of where the crime happened. The case was then forwarded to Korba Police for action.

Korba’s Civil Lines police have now registered a case against Gurjar and Sharma. No arrests have been made so far.

What led to the attack?

According to one of the victims, Abhishek Bhambi, he had asked for a Rs 20,000 advance from his employer to pay an instalment for his vehicle. When the request was denied, Abhishek told the owner he wanted to leave the job. This reportedly angered the employer, who then beat and tortured both workers.

Pramod Dadsena, Station House Officer (SHO) at Civil Lines police station, confirmed to PTI: “No arrests have been made so far in the case and further investigation is underway.”

Inputs from PTI