Indian soldier beaten to death for trying to stop men from harassing girl

A group of men allegedly beat Vedmitra Choudhary with iron rods

An Indian Army soldier was beaten to death by a group of men after he attempted to stop them from harassing a young girl, reported NDTV.

The incident took place in Meerut, a city in India’s Uttar Pradesh.

Vedmitra Choudhary, an Indian Army officer with the 416 Engineering Brigade, was buying milk in the TP neighbourhood when he saw a man trying to assault the shop owner’s young daughter.

Choudhary slapped the man, identified as Akash Saini, in order to stop him, whereupon he called his friends for help. The men allegedly beat Choudhary with iron rods inflicting grave injuries.

Although the soldier was rushed to a nearby private hospital and a military hospital, he succumbed to his injuries soon after.

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"Last night, he succumbed to his head injuries during treatment," Meerut’s superintendent of police OP Singh said on Saturday.

Three men, including Saini, were arrested, and police are searching for the one other accused

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Dairy shop owner Krishan Pal expressed gratitude for Choudhary’s actions saying: “He sacrificed his life for my daughter’s honour. We will remain indebted to him forever,” said Pal.

Speaking on the matter, Sub-Area Colonel Rajiv Kumar said that Choudhary had fulfilled the duty of an Indian soldier and will be remembered as a martyr.

Choudhary leaves behind a wife Babita and two children Vansh and Tanvi.

The article originally appeared on NDTV