Hyderabad: A 20-year-old was attacked with chilli powder and diluted acid by the owners of a house where he used to be a tenant.
The victim, Md Abdul Farooq, sustained severe injuries, police said. The incident, the latest in a long-running quarrel between the two, was sparked by Tayyab (Afzal), the son of house owner Md Sarwar Khan, posting pictures of Farooq’s mother with derogatory remarks on social media.
According to the Santoshnagar police, Farooq went to Sarwar Khan’s house to talk about the picture of his mother posted on social media by the landlord’s son with objectionable remarks.
The landlord and his son attacked the victim and sprayed red chilli powder on him. They began beating him with iron rods and poured diluted acid on his face. The victim lodged a complaint with the Santoshnagar police on Thursday.
The original skirmish broke out between the owner and the tenants over a parking issue. Sarwar Khan asked Farooq not to park his vehicle in front of the house, which they had taken on rent.
A quarrel broke out between both parties. Afterwards, the victim’s mother lodged a complaint on February 6 with the Santoshnagar police and both the parties agreed agreed on a compromise.
The victim’s mother, Ms Kausar Begum, said, “My son insisted on taking back the case and vacating the house. So we shifted to another house on March 6. Sarwar Khan had to return the advance of '20,000 which we gave him at the time of shifting to his house. He gave only '15,000 and deducted '5,000 and claimed some charges. While I was counting the money the owner’s son Md Tayyab took a picture and uploaded it on social media captioning it with derogatory remarks.”
“My son saw the picture on social media and went to the owner’s house to discuss about the issue. An argument broke out between my son and the owner’s family and they attacked him with red chilli powder and acid used to clean bathrooms. My son sustained severe injuries to his left eye and other private parts,” said Ms Kausar Begum.
Santoshnagar inspector K. Ravi told this newspaper that, “We have booked a case of attempt to murder based on the complaint from the victim. Further investigation is underway.”
