Delhi: 6 auto drivers beat man to death for stealing autorickshaw

Six autorickshaw drivers were arrested for beating a 52-year-old man to death, suspecting him of stealing a vehicle in Delhi, police reported.

Six autorickshaw drivers were arrested for allegedly beating a 52-year-old man to death on June 1 on alleged suspicion that he had stolen an autorickshaw in RK Puram Sector 1 in south Delhi, police said on Monday. The stolen autorickshaw was recovered from the accused, police added.

The stolen autorickshaw was recovered from the accused, police added. (Representational image)

The victim was identified as Raj Kumar. He was beaten to death by Manjeet Chawla, Abhishek Shukla, Anil Kumar, Aman Kumar, Sushil Kumar, and Amit Kumar, all in their 20s, police said. Sushil and Amit were arrested on Thursday, while the other four were arrested within a week of the murder, police added. Sushil is the owner of the stolen vehicle while the other accused are his friends who caught Raj in the alleged act of theft, police said.

“On May 30, Sushil lodged a police complaint saying that his autorickshaw was stolen from the roadside near Hanuman Mazdoor Cam. Sushil also told his friends about the theft,” said deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel.

Two days later around 1.20 am, Manjeet spotted the stolen vehicle being driven by Raj Kumar at a CNG pump on the Ring Road near Sarojini Nagar, police said. Raj allegedly tried to escape but was caught by Manjeet and the other accused, who informed Sushil, police said.

“They took Raj to the Mazdoor Camp and beat him up. When he lost consciousness, they left the place, leaving Raj bleeding on the spot. Raj’s son, Saurabh, kept calling him, and a passerby picked up the phone and informed him that Raj was lying on the road. Saurabh arrived on the scene and rushed his father to Safdarjung Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment,” added the DCP.