Bhojpur/Gonda, Jun 19 (PTI) A man from Uttar Pradesh working as a toll plaza guard was beaten to death allegedly by a group of people in Bihar's Bhojpur district on suspicions of stealing Rs 50, police said on Monday.

Victim Balvant Singh's family, however, alleged that he was beaten up by a group of bouncers from Haryana for talking in favour of outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh on Sunday evening.

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The incident occurred at the Kulhadiya toll plaza on the Arrah-Patna highway of Bhojpur district, according to a police statement.

Balvant Singh was a resident of Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, it said. A purported video of the incident surfaced on social media on Sunday.

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"In a video shared on social media on June 18, it was seen that the man was being beaten up by a group of people over suspicion of theft at the Kulhadiya toll plaza on the Arrah-Patna highway. Later, he died when he reached his home town, Gonda. It came to the notice of the district police that family members of Balvant Singh alleged that he died after being mercilessly beaten up by toll plaza employees," the Bhojpur police said.

An FIR was immediately registered with the local police station after analysing the sequence of events of the incident, it said.

Senior officials of the Bhojpur police are in touch with the Gonda police and collecting all relevant information about the incident, the statement added.

The Bhojpur police have also sought the autopsy report from Gonda police.

"Investigation is on. Searches are being conducted to apprehend the accused. The Bhojpur police also raided the toll plaza to nab the culprits," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Gonda District Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said he spoke to his Bhojpur counterpart and dispatched a district police official to accompany the victim's kin to the Bihar district to gather information on the incident.

Police in the Uttar Pradesh district said the victim was sent home in a train after being beaten up on the roof of a hotel near the toll plaza.

They added that after his condition deteriorated during the train journey, the Railway Police Force (RPF) deboarded him at Mankapur station of Gonda district and admitted him to a government hospital, where he died.

The victim's father, Surya Narayan Singh, alleged in a video that his son was beaten up by a group of bouncers from Haryana for supporting the ex-WFI chief in the course of a conversation.

Kaiserganj BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh is facing allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers. Award-winning wrestlers from Haryana have been protesting against him.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)