In a disturbing turn of events in Kanpur, a lawyer has been accused of kidnapping and assaulting a student after seeing him share a cold drink with the lawyer's daughter. The incident has caused outrage and led to significant legal and community backlash.

The sequence of events unfolded when the lawyer witnessed his daughter and a young boy, identified as Aryan Sharma, a Brahman student, drinking a cold drink together at a local shop. Overcome with anger, the lawyer forcibly took Aryan Sharma to his farmhouse. There, he held the young man captive and subjected him to a brutal two-hour beating. The police intervened after being alerted to the situation and managed to rescue the student.

Simultaneously, controversy erupted as the Kanpur Bar Association responded strongly against the arrest. On Saturday, the association ceased all its activities in a protest supporting the lawyer and his brother, who was also implicated in the incident.

Further details emerged from the police investigation. They reported that the lawyer, a 50-year-old practitioner, and his elder brother were arrested on charges of kidnapping and assault. The initial confrontation occurred near the lawyer’s residence at a shop on Friday night.

The police were tipped off by the victim’s father, Keshav Sharma, who received a threatening call from the lawyer demanding he reach a specified location within an hour or face the death of his son. Prompt action by the police, utilizing both surveillance and human intelligence, led to the swift apprehension of the two suspects. At the farmhouse, the police found Aryan Sharma bound by ropes, a grim testament to the severity of his ordeal.

"We are looking into the role of four others in the case. The lawyer and his brother were produced before a court in Kanpur on Saturday. The court sent them to judicial custody," a police officer from the concerned station reported.

Charges of kidnapping and other related offenses have been filed against the accused.

Meanwhile, the victim, a minor boy, is currently receiving medical attention at a local hospital in Kanpur. His condition is described as stable by the attending physicians. "The boy told us that the accused were trying to uproot his nails from his toes during the harassment. We have found evidence supporting his claim while examining his injuries," another police officer elaborated on the severity of the mistreatment the boy endured.

It has been revealed that the lawyer's 14-year-old daughter had previously known the victim, who resides only a short distance from her home. This detail was confirmed by a police officer.

Further context to the case was provided by the information that Brijnarayan Nishad, a lawyer living in Ishwariganj Tirahe in Kanpur, has a daughter who studies D. Pharma at Sakshi College in Baikunthpur. A 17-year-old named Aryan Sharma, who is in the same class as the lawyer’s daughter, is involved in this case. It is understood that Aryan and the lawyer’s daughter are friends. On the evening in question, Aryan visited Bithoor to meet her. They were at the market enjoying a cold drink together when the lawyer, who happened to pass by, saw them.

Upon observing his daughter in the company of a friend, lawyer Brijnarayan was consumed by anger. He hurled verbal insults at Aryan before allegedly coercing him into his vehicle and transporting him to a farmhouse located 2 kilometers away. At this location, Aryan was confined to a room and subjected to a severe beating. During this ordeal, Brijnarayan's elder brother, Tejnarayan Nishad, joined in. The two men assaulted Aryan with various implements such as sticks, rods, and belts, inflicting near-fatal injuries. They are reported to have further tormented him by submerging his head in a trough filled with animal water, all while insisting he terminate his friendship with Brijnarayan’s daughter.

Following the assault, Brijnarayan contacted Aryan's family with a grim warning. He threatened that if they did not caution their son, he might end up thrown into the Ganges River. Distraught and fearing for their son’s life, Aryan's family reached out to the Bithoor police, suspecting that he had been abducted.

Police Traced the Mobile and Arrived

The police report states that late Friday night, the victim’s family hastened to the police station after receiving a distressing phone call from an individual claiming to have abducted their son.

This anonymous caller issued threats against the boy’s life, stating he would murder him and dispose of his body in a river if they failed to meet at a designated location within the next hour.

Acting on this information, the police managed to trace the origin of these threats and proceeded to Chiran village. Upon their arrival, they discovered Aryan confined in a room on a farm, in dire condition with his clothes torn and his face and body noticeably swollen. He was immediately transported to Kanpur Halet Hospital for medical treatment. It was also reported that four individuals, including a woman, fled the scene as the police arrived.

The boy resides with his maternal uncle in Kanpur as he prepares for admission into a Bachelor of Pharmacy course. His parents are based in Kanpur Dehat, approximately 65 km away from the location to which the accused had directed them.

When his family arrived in Kanpur, they immediately sought the help of the police. With the information provided, the police quickly mobilized, utilizing surveillance and human intelligence to pinpoint the location of the accused.

The authorities apprehended the lawyer, who confessed that he had confined the boy at his farmhouse, situated about three kilometers from his own home. A raid on the farmhouse led to the rescue of the boy, who was found with severe injury marks across his body. As the police arrived, other individuals present at the scene fled, leaving the boy behind.

During his statement to the police, the boy recounted that he was kidnapped on Friday night while enjoying a cold drink with a friend. He was forcibly taken by car to the farmhouse, where he was brutally beaten with sticks and iron rods, according to police reports.

The police have initiated a kidnapping and attempted murder case against lawyer Braj Narayan Nishad, the father of the girl, his brother Tej Narayan, and several unidentified individuals. However, this action prompted a protest from a segment of the legal community, who claimed that the boy had been teasing Braj Narayan’s daughter—a claim that the police have denied.

In response to the allegations, on Saturday, a contingent of lawyers organized a demonstration outside the residence of the Kanpur Police Commissioner, demanding that charges be brought against the boy for purportedly molesting the lawyer’s daughter. The situation was defused when the police committed to investigating the lawyers' claims.

Yielding to the pressure from the lawyers, the authorities registered a molestation case against the boy under Section 354 of the IPC and Section 7/8 of the POCSO Act. Following the arrest of Braj Narayan Nishad and his brother on Saturday evening, the local legal community chose to abstain from work. To maintain order, the Provincial Armed Constabulary was stationed in Bithoor and around the local court premises, as the police prepared to proceed with further actions against the two accused.

Lawyers' Uproar at Police Office, PAC Deployed

Following the FIR lodged against the girl's lawyer father and his brothers, the Kanpur Bar Association declared a strike on Saturday. Hundreds of lawyers, alongside the accused party, congregated at the Commissioner's office to protest in support of the accused. As tensions rose, additional security forces from ten police stations and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were deployed to manage the escalating situation.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Dhull revealed that the police utilized electronic surveillance and human intelligence to track down the lawyer and his brother. Based on this intelligence, the police team proceeded to Chirand village. There, they encountered several individuals armed with sharp-edged weapons congregating near a pond. When these individuals noticed the approaching police, they fled the scene. The police subsequently discovered the boy, who was found in a dire state, bound and gagged.