Rajkot: A 40-year-old factory worker died after being brutally assaulted on suspicion of theft at an industrial unit in Magharvada village of Rajkot district, police said. The incident led to the registration of a murder case against 10 accused and several unidentified persons.The deceased, identified as Chandraveer Chauhan, was a native of Uttar Pradesh and had reportedly joined Kavya Alloy Private Limited two months ago.The case was registered at Kuvadva Road police station, following a complaint lodged by Chandraveer’s 20-year-old cousin, Sarvesh Chauhan, who works as a labourer in Rajkot.Based on the complaint, company manager Shani Raiyani was booked by police along with Parth Hapaliya, Danish Hapaliya, Satyam Dobariya, Sahil Limbasiya, Ramesh Siddharth, Vishal Jatap, Raju Thakor, Munna Verma and several unidentified persons under Sections 103(1), 190, 191(2), 189(2), and other relevant provisions of the BNS.According to the FIR, Chandraveer left the factory premises on the night of July 21. A short while later, manager Shani Raiyani and Parth Hapaliya informed Sarvesh that Chandraveer had been caught after being accused of stealing around 35 kilograms of copper from the factory.Sarvesh alleged that on the morning of July 22, he found Chandraveer tied with ropes, lying face-down on a cot near the factory gate. He claimed that the accused repeatedly assaulted Chandraveer with a plastic pipe and a machine belt.The complainant further alleged that despite his repeated pleas to stop the assault, the accused continued beating Chandraveer, who eventually lost consciousness due to the injuries. An ambulance was called to the spot, where medical personnel declared him dead.Police have launched an investigation into the incident and are examining CCTV footage from the factory premises along with other evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events. Officials are also recording statements of witnesses and gathering forensic evidence as part of the probe.
