Four men chopped off the hands of a labourer in Pakistan's Punjab province after accusing him of involvement in a theft, police officials said today.
Tufail Ahmed, a resident of Choti Bala village in Dera Ghazi Khan district, 400 km from Lahore, was allegedly caught while robbing the house of a man named Hasan Attaullah yesterday, a charge the victim denies.
Attaullah and his companions tied Ahmed's hands and feet before chopping off his hands with a sharp-edged weapon.
Ahmed was also assaulted by the four men, police said.
Local residents took Ahmed to a state-run hospital in Dera Ghazi Khan town. Doctors described his condition as critical.
Ahmed's relatives told police that the allegations levelled against him were false. They said Ahmed had an old enmity with Attaullah, who had concocted the story to cover up his crime.
Attaullah and his accomplices abducted Ahmed and then cut off his hands, the relatives told police.
Police arrested Attaullah and registered a case against him and his three accomplices.
