LUDHIANA: Seven men are under arrest following the murder of a man whose hand was severed and delivered in a bag to a local shop in the Daba area early on Saturday.Their man who was attacked, Shakti Singh ‘Bhura’, died of severe blood loss at Ludhiana’s civil hospital after cops moved him from an acquaintance’s house near Gurdwara Reru SahibDalbir Singh of Lohara Colony is the prime suspect. Police said Bhura, Dalbir, and several associates had gathered at the home of Vicky Carpenter on Friday night to drink when an argument between Bhura and Dalbir ended in the fatal attack with a datar (a traditional agricultural a small sickle with a short handle and a semi-circular blade).Following the assault, the assailants placed the severed hand in a polythene bag, delivered it to a shopkeeper on Street Number 9 in Satguru Nagar, and instructed him to pass it to Vicky. Terrified by the delivery, the shopkeeper alerted cops.Assistant commissioner of police Roopdeep Kaur, joined by Daba station house officer, inspector Jatinder Kumar, said preliminary investigations indicated personal enmity had motivated the attack. She confirmed that police had registered a murder case against seven men and arrested them.Suspect stood up forsister: InvestigatorsA source among the investigators claimed that Bhura used to badmouth Dalbir’s sister and look for an opportunity to exploit her. An indecent comment about her in the sitting is said to have provoked a drunken Dalbir to attack Bhura.Otherwise, the source said, Bhura and the seven suspects were a gang that used to sit together often and plot crimes in the region.Investigators reviewed CCTV footage showing how the suspects arrived at the shop on two motorcycles to deliver the gory package. Police noted that both Bhura and the primary suspects had criminal records.Bhura faced charges including murder, attempted murder, prison violations, and drug offences – including allegations connected to an inmate death at the central jail in 2019 – while Dalbir Singh faced prior theft charges.Drug angle under probeAuthorities stated that drug involvement remains under investigation, though no direct narcotics link has been established. Vicky was also named as an accused in the case, and police confirmed that Bhura lacked a fixed residence.
