Nails pulled out, given electric shocks: Employer tortures workers on suspicion of theft

Two ice cream factory workers in Korba district, Chhattisgarh, were allegedly tortured by their employer and his aide who pulled out their nails and administered them electric shocks on suspicion of theft, police said on Saturday, 19 April.

The victims, Abhishek Bhambi and Vinod Bhambi, originally from Bhilwara district in Rajasthan, were hired through a contractor to work at the ice cream factory owned by Chhotu Gurjar in Khaprabhatti area under the Civil Lines police station limits, a police official said.

On 14 April, Gurjar and his associate Mukesh Sharma accused the two workers of theft. The duo was stripped, given electric shocks, and their nails were pulled out, he said, adding that the video of the torture has gone viral.

The video clip shows a semi-nude man being administered electric shocks and thrashed, he said.

The two victims managed to escape and reach their native place in Bhilwara. They lodged a complaint at Gulabpura police station.

The Rajasthan Police registered a "zero" FIR and forwarded the case to Korba police for further action, he said.

Under a zero FIR, victims can file complaints at any police station regardless of the crime's location.

Subsequently, a case was registered at Civil Lines police station in Korba on Friday against Gurjar and Sharma.

One of the victims, Abhishek Bhambhi, stated that he had demanded Rs 20,000 advance from his employer to pay for the instalment of his vehicle. When the owner refused, Abhishek expressed his desire to quit the job, which angered the accused who assaulted both workers, he said.

"No arrests have been made so far in the case and further investigation is underway", said Pramod Dadsena, station house officer of Civil Lines police station.