A shopkeeper in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal was brutally thrashed by a customer for allegedly addressing him as 'uncle' while showing 'sarees' to his wife. The victim, identified as Vishal Shastri, reportedly owns a saree shop called Shastri Fashion near Shani Mandi in Bhopal's Jatkhedi area.
On Saturday, a customer, aged around 29-30, visited his shop with his wife and child to browse sarees. Vishal in his complaint to the police alleged that the accused got angry when he referred to him as 'uncle' in front of his wife and later came back to the shop with 10-15 men and assaulted him.
In a video going viral on social media, Vishal narrated the sequence of the incident and said the matter started after he asked the accused about the price range of sarees he would like to buy.
"He said Rs 1,000. My brother said we'll show him sarees in the range, but later the customer added that he could even buy a saree costlier than that and said not to undermine his buying capacity," Vishal said.
Vishal then went on and told the accused, "Uncle, I will show you sarees in other ranges too." This infuriated the man, who warned Vishal not to call him 'uncle' again and an argument ensued. Later, the accused left the shop with his family, but returned later with '10-15 men'.
The men then dragged Vishal out of his shop onto the road and started thrashing him with sticks and belts. They also kicked him several times before fleeing the spot.
The injured Vishal reached the nearest police station and lodged a complaint against the accused. He was then sent for a medical examination and treatment at the nearby hospital.
According to a report by India Today, police have registered a case against accused Rohit and his friends. "All the accused will be arrested soon," senior police officer Manish Raj Singh Bhadauria said.