60-yr-old man assaulted by house owner, two others for taking bath at night

Gurugram: An elderly man sustained severe injuries in his eyes after he was assaulted by three suspects, including his house owner, at Sector 8 in IMT Manesar, police said on Sunday.

According to investigators, the assault took place because the victim had used water stored in an overhead tank for taking a bath.

Investigators said the incident took place at about 11pm on Thursday when the victim, identified as Narender Rohilla (60), returned from his office. They said the three suspects, including the house owner and his son assaulted him moments after he took a bath.

According to police, Rohilla alleged that the house owner quizzed him about why he wastes so much water at night. They said that the owner was probably annoyed with the victim’s habit of taking baths after returning from the office at night as it left less water in the tank for other tenants in the morning.

Police said a heated argument took place that ended up in the trio rounding up Rohilla and assaulting him badly for at least 30 minutes.

Investigators said Rohilla alleged that the owner’s son kept holding him from behind, while the other two rained punches on his chest and face.

Rohilla said doctors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, told him that it may take six months for him to regain his vision completely. “My left eye is badly affected. I am not able to see from it. The assailants were miffed with me because I used to take a bath after returning from the office every night,” he alleged.

The victim’s wife, Santosh, said that her husband somehow managed to free himself from their clutches and ran towards his office, a firm that manufactures garments for export.

“Using the mobile phone of an employee, my husband alerted the police control room. He later returned to his room when the house owner asked him to vacate it after clearing a pending due of ₹3,000. He arranged the money from one of his colleagues and vacated the room out of fear. He kept his belongings in the office and police took him to a government hospital in Sector 10A for treatment,” Santosh said.

Santosh said the next morning his husband complained of acute pain in his eyes and chest. “He was bleeding from both his eyes and was hardly able to see anything. We rushed him to PGIMS, Rohtak, for treatment immediately,” she said.

Santosh alleged that doctors have suggested that he should take bed rest for at least a fortnight as he is suffering from breathlessness too due to his chest injury.

On Rohilla’s complaint, an FIR was registered against the suspects under Section 34 (common intention), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at IMT Manesar police station on Friday, said police.

Inspector Subhash Chand, station house officer (SHO) of IMT Manesar police station, said that they are awaiting Rohilla’s detailed medical report. “Once it is received, we will get to know about the nature of the injuries and then we will take appropriate action against the three suspects,” he added.