A social gathering turned deadly in Ludhiana’s Lohara Colony on Saturday morning after a man was attacked by his own friends, who chopped off his right hand at a mutual acquaintance’s house.

In a chilling twist, the accused allegedly placed the severed hand in a polythene bag and handed it to a local grocery shop owner, asking him to deliver it to the victim.

The victim, Shakti Singh, alias Bhoora, 35, a resident of Basant Nagar, was found lying in a pool of blood after the assailants fled. He was rushed to a hospital by the police but succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment. Doctors suspect that excessive blood loss led to his death.

According to police, locals alerted them after the grocery shop owner raised the alarm.

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Eyewitnesses told the police that the accused handed the severed hand to the grocer and asked him to give it to Bhoora. When the shopkeeper refused, the assailants allegedly threatened him with a similar fate before fleeing.

The Daba police registered a murder case against seven accused and arrested one of them, identified as Dalbir Singh. A hunt is underway to apprehend the remaining suspects.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Roopdeep Kaur said preliminary investigations suggested that the victim and the accused knew each other well.

They had reportedly spent Friday night at the house of a common associate Vicky. A spat broke out between Bhoora and the accused on Saturday morning, following which the attackers allegedly called their associates and assaulted him.

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“The accused thrashed the victim and chopped off his right hand at the wrist before fleeing. We are questioning the arrested accused to establish what triggered such a brutal attack,” the ACP said.

The police suspect that an old rivalry may have led to the murder, though the precise motive has yet to be established.

The ACP also said Bhoora himself had been facing trial in at least 12 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and drug peddling, registered at various police stations. The police are probing all possible angles while working to establish the sequence of events and identify the roles of the remaining accused.