A man and his son were allegedly beaten up and stripped in public view by a group of four men over a dispute related to the ownership of a gym that was operating from the basement of the family’s house and his wife was molested when she objected to the attack in East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar area, police said on Monday. The main accused, who the family claimed was employed as the caretaker of the gym, has been arrested following the incident, officers added.
A video of the violent attack was widely shared on social media, showing the man’s son being punched, slapped, kicked, and stripped of his pants by the four men. Later, two policemen arrived and returned his pants to him. In another video, the accused can be seen getting out of a Thar and assaulting the man and his wife.
According to the FIR, the family had opened a gym in the basement of their house in Laxmi Nagar and had employed Satish alias Pintoo Yadav as its caretaker. “However, he took over the gym, claiming that we had given him ownership. We never transferred ownership of the gym and have all the relevant documents,” the woman was quoted as saying in the FIR. She further alleged that Satish Yadav would often threaten her and her family whenever they asked him to vacate the premises.
According to the police complaint, on January 2, there was a leakage in their house. As the pipeline was located in the basement, the man and his wife allegedly went there to check it. That was when Satish Yadav, along with his friends, arrived and attacked the man. The incident was captured on a nearby CCTV camera. “When I intervened, they thrashed me, pulled my hair and hit me due to which I fell on the ground. One of them also touched me inappropriately. Then they pulled my husband into the basement of the gym where they stripped him naked and beat him up badly,” the woman claimed in the FIR.
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When the son went to save his parents, Satish and his friends then allegedly dragged her son out of the house and attacked him as well. In one of the clips, four to five men can be seen pulling him out of the house, while another woman present inside the house tries to rescue him. The accused allegedly stripped him on the road and thrashed him with a shoe on his face. “My family is in terrible condition, as all of us are completely traumatised. My son has been humiliated in public, and I want justice,” she added.
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“My son’s wedding is scheduled in 10 days. We were supposed to be happy, but look at what has happened to us,” the man, who was beaten up and had visible bruises and swelling on his face, said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Abhishek Dhania said, “We are verifying the claims made by both parties. One of the attackers, identified as Satish Yadav has been arrested, while the others will be nabbed soon.”
