Landlord assaulted by tenants over unpaid rent succumbs; 2 arrested in Hoshiarpur

A landlord, who was allegedly attacked with a wooden spade handle earlier this week over three months of unpaid rent by three of his tenants, including a woman, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Dasuya on Friday, officials said.

Police said the incident occurred on the afternoon of July 6, when one of the tenants, Guddu, allegedly called 57-year-old Naresh Kumar to the house on the pretext of clearing pending rent.

Police said Naresh, a Dasuya resident, ran a tailoring shop in Old Suniara Bazar and had rented out the upper portion of his old house in Kaintha Mohalla to migrant labourers from Bihar.

Naresh and his son, Sahil Kumar, went to collect the rent around 3.30 pm and Sahil waited outside in the street while his father went upstairs, police said.

According to the FIR, after hearing a commotion, Sahil rushed upstairs and found Guddu's wife, Sita, and her brother-in-law, Shatthu, allegedly abusing and assaulting his father with a wooden spade handle.

The FIR stated that when Sahil tried to rescue his father, the accused pushed Naresh down the staircase before fleeing by jumping across adjoining rooftops after issuing threats.

Police said Naresh sustained serious head and other injuries and was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Dasuya, later being referred to a private hospital in Jalandhar. His family brought him back to the Civil Hospital in Dasuya on Thursday, where he died on Friday morning, police said.

An FIR was initially registered against the three accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). SHO of Dasuya Police Station Daljit Singh said provisions relating to murder had been added to the FIR following Naresh's death.

He said Guddu and Sita, both natives of Nalanda district in Bihar, were arrested on July 7, while efforts were underway to apprehend the third accused, Shatthu.

The SHO said further investigation is underway.