A 24-year-old Junior Engineer (JE) of the Jal Shakti Department, Labh Singh Guleria, succumbed to his injuries at AIIMS-Bilaspur on Sunday morning, days after he was allegedly assaulted by unidentified assailants in Kullu. The incident has triggered widespread shock, with the police launching an intensive investigation to trace those responsible.

According to the police, Guleria was found in a critical condition early Saturday morning, lying face-down inside a vegetable vendor’s kiosk near his office. He was initially rushed to the Regional Hospital, Kullu, where doctors, considering the seriousness of his injuries, referred him to AIIMS-Bilaspur. Despite being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and receiving treatment, he died at around 6 am on Sunday.

The victim’s wife, Kanta Devi, has lodged a complaint alleging that her husband was attacked by unknown persons while returning home from duty on Friday evening. She told police that Guleria had called her around 11 pm, mentioning an incident near Pirdi bridge and informing her that he was on his way home. However, when he failed to reach home, family members began searching for him.

During the search, his scooter was found parked near the Rotary Eye Hospital in Gandhinagar. Shortly afterwards, the family discovered him lying seriously injured near a vegetable vendor’s kiosk, about 50 metres from his office, and rushed him to hospital.

The victim’s nephew, Veer Singh Guleria, said his uncle had suffered severe injuries to his head and mouth. “He was admitted to the ICU at AIIMS-Bilaspur but could not survive,” he said.

Kullu SP Madan Lal Kaushal said a case has been registered and the investigation is progressing on multiple fronts. Police are examining CCTV footage from the area and investigating all possible angles to identify the attackers. The SP said the accused would be arrested soon and appealed to the public to share any information that could help crack the case.