Assaulted man claims mob were sent by in-laws

An Indian man has claimed to have been assaulted by a group of men associated with the parents of his soon to be ex-wife, the Times of India reports.

Salman Dalvi from Chembur, India, was attacked by a group of approximately ten thugs on the premises of his local police station and he believes the attack was premeditated by the parents of his estranged wife Parveen Ansari.

The computer engineer married Ms Ansari in April 2006 but they separated a few months later and by the end of the year Ms Ansari has filed for divorce, and pressed dowry-related charges against her husband.

It was after a hearing for this case at the police station, during which Mr Dalvi said he did not want a divorce, that the assault is alleged to have occurred.

The 32-year-old's mother Hawwa Bi told the paper: "Salman cried for help but no policeman came to his rescue.

"The men made him sign on some papers and even pronounce divorce on the phone, before bundling him in a car and dumping him at a desolate spot."

Senior police inspector N R Mane said that to his knowledge no assault had taken place.