BATHINDA, Aug 14 — Punjab Police on Thursday arrested two men for the brutal assault of a Zimbabwean student in Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda district, that has left the victim fighting for his life at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amneet Kondal said Manpreet Singh and Mangu Singh were taken into custody, while search teams have been deployed to apprehend two other suspects — Dilpreet Singh and Lovepeet Singh.
The victim, 22-year-old Ziweya Leeroy, a Bachelor of Science student at Guru Kashi University in Talwandi Sabo, suffered severe head injuries. “Leeroy is in a critical condition and remains under constant medical observation,” Kondal said.
Police have ruled out any hate-crime angle, saying the attack followed a dispute between Leeroy and a university security guard. “During a vehicle check at the university gate on August 12, a baseball bat was found in Leeroy’s car and he argued with the guard, Dilpreet Singh. The next day, Dilpreet and his accomplices followed Leeroy and attacked him with baseball bats, sticks and sharp-edged weapons,” the SSP said.
The assault took place near the university campus on Wednesday evening. Leeroy was found unconscious and rushed to hospital by police officers. Doctors declared him unfit to record a statement, and a case was registered at Talwandi Sabo police station based on a complaint by Assistant Sub-Inspector Des Raj.
The first information report was lodged under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 190 (unlawful assembly for offences committed in prosecution of their common object) and 191(3) (rioting involving deadly weapons) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Investigators said that after the attack, the assailants’ vehicle rammed into a tree. The damaged car was abandoned at the spot and later recovered by police.
