25-year-old man tied to a tree, beaten to death on suspicion of theft; two arrested

A police team dispatched to the spot found an unidentified man lying injured and unconscious. Locals alleged that he was a thief and was caught red-handed.

A 25-year-old unidentified man died after he was tied to a tree and beaten up by a group of locals on the suspicion of theft in outer Delhi’s Narela Industrial Area on Thursday, police said. Two men were arrested in this connection and efforts are on to identify and nab the others, police said Friday.

DCP (outer-north) Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the body of the man has been preserved at the government hospital mortuary for identification purposes. (For representation only)

Deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the body of the man has been preserved at the government hospital mortuary in outer Delhi for identification purposes as his identity could not be ascertained till late Friday evening.

DCP Singh said on Thursday around 9am, the Narela Industrial Area police station received a call that a thief was caught and beaten up by the public in Block I of the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC) industrial area in Narela.

A police team was dispatched to the spot and the personnel arrived there to find an unidentified man lying injured and unconscious. Locals alleged that he was a thief and was caught red-handed.

“The injured man was rushed to Raja Harish Chandra Hospital in Narela, where he later succumbed to injuries during treatment. A case was registered under relevant sections and investigation taken up,” the DCP said.

Through local inquiries, the investigating team learnt that a man had barged into a factory in Block I to commit a theft on Wednesday night. Some workers who were sleeping inside the factory woke up and raised the alarm, forcing the thief to flee. The workers told police they saw the man’s face before he fled.

On Thursday morning, a few locals saw a man coming out of another factory in the same block, carrying some items. They stopped him for questioning. In the meantime, workers of the first factory also arrived there and they identified him as the thief who had entered their factory the previous night, a police officer associated with the case said.

“The gathering grew by then; they tied the man to a tree and assaulted him till he fell unconscious. They fled before the police arrived. We have identified and arrested two of them so far,” said the officer, asking not to be named.

Police have not shared information about the identities of the arrested men and said there were more suspects remaining to be arrested.

In May this year, a 20-year-old man was beaten to death in outer Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar on the suspicion of theft. Two men were arrested a day later for the crime.