Five arrested for lynching phone thief in Vasai

Five persons arrested for lynching a 23-year-old history-sheeter caught stealing a mobile phone in Vasai East. Accused to be produced in court on Friday.

MUMBAI: A day after a 23-year-old history-sheeter was lynched in Vasai East after he was caught stealing a mobile phone, the Pelhar police on Thursday arrested five persons who lynched him. The accused are Shyam Tiwari, 28, Brijesh Prajapati, 25, Utsav Mishra, 33, Ajay Mishra, 21 and Krishna Vishwakarma, 22.

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The incident occurred on Wednesday at 6am when Abhishek Soni was caught stealing a phone from a shop. When the owner of the shop raised an alarm, a group of people gathered at the spot and started beating and kicking Soni. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

According to Jitendra Vankoti, senior police inspector of Pelhar police station, the five accused, who are from Valai Pada, Pelhar, were either on their way to work or returning home from night duty.

The accused have been arrested under sections 302 (murder), 141 (unlawful assembly) and 148 (rioting) of the Indian Penal Code. “We have arrested the five for assaulting and killing the robber and will produce them before the court on Friday,” Vankoti said.

The police identified the accused through other witnesses and the CCTV recordings of the area where they were seen hitting and kicking Soni.

According to the police, Soni was a habitual criminal who had at least six housebreaking and robbery cases registered against him. “We had arrested Soni for possession of drugs as well. Being an addict, Soni often robbed mobile phones or wallets to get easy money for narcotics,” said a police officer.