In Pilibhit district, a 47-year-old contractor and his 22-year-old son were taken into custody on Sunday. They are accused of setting a 55-year-old construction worker, Ramdas, on fire after he requested approximately Rs 60,000 in unpaid wages. The incident occurred in Bhikampur village, located in the Bilsanda area. Ramdas sustained severe injuries, suffering over 70% burns, and is currently in critical condition at a government hospital in Lucknow.
Following a complaint by the victim’s son, Dharmendra Kumar , police registered an FIR against contractor Rajesh Kumar and his two sons under BNS sections 109 (attempt to murder), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult).
Bilsanda SHO Jagdeep Malik said, “Rajesh Kumar and one of his two sons, Aniket, have been arrested. His other son will be held soon.”
Dharmendra alleged that his father, Ramdas, had demanded around Rs 60,000 in pending wages owed to him and other family members.
He said Rajesh had taken the family to Gurgaon in Haryana around a year ago for brick-related work, but the dues remained unpaid. With the payment still pending, Ramdas had recently started selling goods from a grocery cart in the village to support his family.