23-year-old kidnapped, assaulted over work dispute

Vadodara: A 23-year-old man was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by five men over a work-related dispute in the city. The victim, Lavkush Tiwari, has lodged a complaint against the accused at Atladara police station on Friday.

According to Tiwari’s complaint, he works as a house colour contractor. Around one-and-a-half years ago, one of the accused, Hardik Patel, had assigned him a contract to paint his house. Tiwari completed the work within 15 days, but one room could not be painted due to pending plaster work. Patel, however, paid him the full amount and asked him to complete the remaining work later.

Two months ago, Patel reportedly asked Tiwari to finish painting the room. Tiwari said he was unable to take up the work due to financial constraints.

On Thursday afternoon, Tiwari alleged that he was abused, assaulted and forcibly taken by the accused to Patel’s farm. The other accused have been identified as Ajay Vishwakarma, Sanjay Saroj, Krishna Kumar Agrawal and Imran Khan.

This is the second such incident reported in the city in recent days. A few days ago, another complaint was lodged alleging that a man was kidnapped and stripped naked over a dispute.