20-year-old man beaten to death at crowded bus stand in Punjab’s Budhlada on his birthday

Police suspect old enmity, are examining CCTV footage, and have not made any arrests as of the report. (Source: File)

A 20-year-old man who was celebrating his birthday was beaten to death with sticks and sharp edged weapons at the busy Budhlada bus stand in Punjab’s Mansa district on Wednesday afternoon, the police said.

According to the police, the incident took place around 2 pm, when Jashandeep Singh, a resident of Kulheri village, had come to Budhlada town with a few friends by bus to celebrate his birthday. Four to five assailants who arrived in a car suddenly attacked Singh at the crowded bus stand.

“The attackers beat him mercilessly with sticks and sharp edged weapons and fled the scene, leaving him critically injured,” a friend of Jashandeep said.

Singh sustained serious head injuries and collapsed at the spot. Though he was rushed to a hospital, doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Preliminary investigation indicated that old enmity might have motivated the murder, though police officials said the matter was still under investigation. The officials said they would examine CCTV footage from the bus stand and record statements of eyewitnesses.

The attackers managed to escape, and no arrests were reported till the filing of this report.

Eyewitnesses present at the bus stand reportedly failed to intervene during the attack.

Kamaldeep Singh, Station House Officer, Budhlada, is investigating the incident.

The incident has added to a string of violent crimes reported from across the state recently. On January 2, a woman was gunned down in a targeted attack at her home in Kapurthala. A panchayat member was shot dead in Mog on January 3. A day later, a sarpanch was killed during a wedding in Amritsar. A kabaddi player was murdered in Jagraon on January 5. And masked men fired gunshots at a shop in Ludhiana on January 6 after making ransom calls to its owner.