Four individuals, including a software engineer, have been arrested twenty-four hours after a shocking incident in Telangana's Suryapet, where a man was mercilessly attacked with knives and stones on a busy street.
The victim, identified as C Santosh, survived the assault, and doctors treating him have stated that his condition is stable.
The disturbing video of the incident has quickly spread across social media platforms. The attack took place when Santosh was cornered by the four assailants, namely V Krishna, Manideep, P Mahesh, and Prem Naidu, near the Muthoot Finance office on Thursday afternoon. While Krishna, Mahesh, and Prem held Santosh down, Manideep, the software engineer in the group, pulled out a dagger and began repeatedly stabbing him. At one point, Mahesh momentarily released his grip on the victim to strike his head with a heavy stone. Despite being bleeding, Santosh attempted to dodge the stones while the techie continued.
Watch the video here:
(Warning: Disturbing visuals)
As the shocking scene unfolded, traffic slowed down, and shocked onlookers attempted to intervene but were forcibly pushed aside by the attackers.
The assailants fled the scene before the arrival of the police. Santosh was immediately rushed to a hospital, and based on his statement, law enforcement apprehended the four accused.
Two attempted murder cases against Santosh
During the investigation, it was discovered that there were two prior attempted murder cases against Santosh. Thursday's incident was believed to be a retaliatory strike by Krishna, who had himself been the victim of a violent attack in 2021 stemming from a financial dispute.
According to police, Santosh owed Rs 10,000 to Krishna, and when pressured to repay the debt, he allegedly attempted to eliminate Krishna. In response, Krishna filed an attempted murder case against Santosh, who then went into hiding in Hyderabad for two years. Recently, Santosh returned to Suryapet and began pressuring Krishna to withdraw the case, which led to the escalating tensions between them.
"Fearing another attempt on his life, Krishna decided to target Santosh. He enlisted the help of three others to kill him," said Suryapet Town inspector G Rajasekhar.
Police suspect that the accused individuals had been observing Santosh's movements and seized the opportunity to attack him as he reached the location of the incident. A case has been registered against all the accused under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as the Arms Act.
