Kanpur LLB student's stomach split open, fingers chopped off in cleaver attack over medicine price

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A 22-year-old law student is fighting for his life after a violent altercation over the price of a medicine in Kanpur escalated into a horrific attack, leaving him with his stomach split open and two fingers severed.

The incident, detailed in an HT report, occurred when Abhijeet Singh Chandel, a first-year LLB student at Kanpur University, visited a pharmacy near his Keshavpuram residence. A dispute with the shop owner, Amar Singh Chauhan, over the cost of a medicine quickly spiralled out of control.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Ranjeet Kumar, Chauhan, along with his brother Vijay Singh and two associates, Prince Srivastava and Nikhil Tiwari, then launched a vicious assault on the student. The assailants used a cleaver to inflict devastating injuries, hitting Chandel on the head and stomach before splitting his abdomen open and chopping off two of his fingers.

Soaked in blood, the student reportedly collapsed on the road. Bystanders rushed to his aid as the attackers fled the scene. In a desperate bid to save his life before an ambulance could take him to hospital, Chandel’s family were forced to tie his protruding intestines with a cloth.

His ordeal continued as four separate hospitals refused to admit him due to the severity of his condition, according to a PTI report. He was finally accepted at Regency Hospital, where doctors performed a two-hour emergency surgery. Police confirmed the student also received 14 stitches to a head wound.

In a troubling twist, the victim’s mother, Neelam Singh Chandel, has publicly alleged that the accused are “well connected with police.” She claims that on the same night as the near-fatal assault, the police registered a “false” extortion case against her and her critically injured son based on a complaint from Chauhan.

She stated that instead of arresting those behind the murderous attack, the police had booked her son, who was fighting for his life.

ACP Kumar reportedly confirmed that an extortion case was initially filed against Chandel based on the shop owner’s complaint. However, a new case was registered following the brutal attack.

Police have now arrested three individuals, including Amar Singh Chauhan, on charges of attempt to murder. A manhunt is underway for the fourth accused, Prince Srivastava.