Gurgaon: A man was allegedly attacked by five neighbours on the staircase of a residential building in Jyoti Park after a dispute over stray dogs turned violent. The incident took place on Oct 13. A day later, a case was registered following a complaint lodged by Amit Kumar.Earlier, a dispute broke out on Sept 18 over car parking and the stray dogs in the locality, according to his complaint. Amit said he anticipated another confrontation and that the investigating officer was on a video call with him as he went upstairs on Tuesday. The officer witnessed the assault during the call, he claimed. Amit said he suffered injuries and went to a govt hospital for treatment. A medico-legal report (MLR) recorded three injuries, said Amit, an electronic appliance service centre technician.On Oct 14, the case was registered against five people — including Prithvi Raj Virmani, a neighbour, and four others — at New Colony police station under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 351(3) (criminal intimidation involving a threat of death or grievous hurt), 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 324(4) (mischief causing damage to property) of BNS.Amit alleged that Prithvi, his three sons and his wife Santosh were involved in the assault. Amit told police that he feared for his safety and that of his family and sought protection and strict legal action against the accused. Amit alleged that his wife had been pushed, her hand had been twisted and she had been verbally abused during a previous dispute. He also accused Prithvi of threatening his wife with death in the parking area between 3pm and 4pm on Oct 13 and making an objectionable remark to her. The complainant alleged that his neighbours damaged his belongings kept in the parking area. “Head constable Pooran is handling the case,” police said.Amit said tensions had been simmering over two dogs, which he claimed posed a safety concern for his “elderly mother and young son”. Amit told TOI that he had no objection to his neighbours keeping pet dogs but was concerned about the behaviour of the stray dogs being fed and sheltered in shared spaces. One dog had been accommodated on the building’s common terrace and another in the parking area, he alleged.“We have never complained about our neighbours’ pet dog, but they feed these stray dogs and have allowed them to stay in common areas. When my 62-year-old mother goes to the terrace, one of the dogs tries to attack her. My 10-year-old son is also afraid of the dog in the parking area, because it barks at him whenever he is in that area,” Amit said.According to his complaint, after the earlier dispute, both sides approached the police station and the police commissioner’s office with complaints against each other. The parties were called to New Colony police station on Oct 13 to resolve the dispute. Amit alleged that the neighbours discussed removing vehicles from the parking area and addressing the stray dog issue before both sides submitted written statements to the police. Amit told TOI that he had agreed to the compromise despite the altercation involving him and his wife.He said the dispute escalated on Tuesday after police asked him to remove the stray dog from the terrace himself. “I had already agreed to a compromise earlier, even though my wife and I had faced an attack. But when the police asked me to remove the dog from the terrace myself, I decided to go upstairs to do so,” he said. According to the complaint, at 3.30pm, Prithvi followed Amit towards the terrace after watching him on CCTV. Amit alleged that Prithvi made a remark about teaching him a lesson, while another family member, Nikhil Virmani, blocked his way at the doorway. A group of people then allegedly assaulted him. Amit said his neighbour Piyush and Piyush’s mother, Himani, arrived after hearing him shout for help. Piyush attempted to record the incident and a short video was captured.
