Around 5 pm, he was allegedly called to the office, where Rushi Patel confronted him with a photograph of a vehicle and accused him of stealing diesel.
“When I denied the accusation, they were furious. First Rushi Patel attacked me with an iron pipe and then the others started beating me with plastic pipes one after the other”, said the victim in his complaint to the police. However, the accusations did not stop at the attack.
Natvarbhai has further claimed that the accused crossed all limits of brutality by tying his legs with a rope, hanging him upside down inside the office and hurling caste-based abuses at him while continuing the attack.
“I was tortured inhumanely. I was ill-treated because of my caste and beaten until I lost consciousness,” the complaint said.
According to the FIR, the accused left after the victim fell unconscious.
Other employees present at the office later rescued him and transported him on a motorbike to the Kahona boat wharf, from where his son brought him home.
His condition is said to have worsened, forcing the family members to call ambulance 108. He was first admitted to Umalla Government Hospital before being shifted to Rajpipla Civil Hospital for advanced treatment.
The incident has sparked widespread anger among tribal community leaders, who have accused authorities of being slow to investigate because of political influences allegedly linked to the accused.
