ROORKEE: Six kanwarias from Haryana were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly beating a UP-based kanwaria, who was a soldier on leave, to death. The victim, 26-year-old Kartik Chaudhary, was in the Maratha Light Infantry.
All the arrested accused are from Chulkana village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Samalkha police station in Panipat district. More arrests are likely in the case, police said.
Accused in the custody of Roorkee police at Civil Lines police station in Roorkee
On Tuesday morning, a fight had ensued between two kanwar groups as one of them overtook the other after collecting Gangajal in Haridwar, police said. Kartik was beaten with hockey sticks during the altercation. He later succumbed to his injuries. All the accused fled from the crime scene after the fight. Kartik's friends, who were with him for the kanwar yatra, informed their relatives in Muzaffarnagar as well as the UP police. A search operation to nab the accused was launched soon after.
The accused were eventually nabbed by the Purkazi police in Muzaffarnagar and handed over to the Roorkee police within eight hours of the incident.
Cops slapped sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC on the accused. Two mini trucks loaded with loudspeakers and seven motorcycles were also confiscated. "There seem to be many kanwarias involved in the crime besides the accused. We're yet to arrest the others," said circle officer of Roorkee, Vivek Kumar.
Kartik, who was recruited into the Army in 2016, was posted in Gujarat's Jamnagar. He had taken a month's leave to visit his family in Muzaffarnagar and complete the yatra.
