Mobile thief dies while escaping, police prob lynching

Mumbai: A supposed lynching case is being investigated by police officials after a mobile phone robber was reportedly found dead

Mumbai: A supposed lynching case is being investigated by police officials after a mobile phone robber was reportedly found dead. The deceased allegedly fell on his head while he was being chased by locals at Malad East on Tuesday.

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According to the Kurar police officers, the incident took place at the MHB Colony area in Malad East when at 4pm locals called up the police station and informed them that there was a body lying near the drain.

Upon reaching the spot, the police officers found Kishan Mishra (30) lying in a pool of blood. The man was rushed to the Shatabdi Hospital where he was declared dead before admission.

Satish Gadhve, senior police inspector of Kurar police station said that upon conducting enquiries, the locals informed police that Mishra had snatched the mobile phone of a Chinese fast food stall owner. “We have found a phone in possession of Mishra,” said Gadhve.

The officers further said that as Mishra began fleeing after robbing the phone, the mobile phone owner shouted and called out for help. “The locals saw the robber running and started chasing him. The eyewitnesses have told us that the robber ran for more than 500 metres and then when he heard people shouting and chasing him, he ran faster and before he could get away, he slipped and fell on his head,” said Gadhve.

The police officers said that Mishra had suffered severe head injuries according to the autopsy report sent by the hospital, however, the police are now checking the CCTVs of the locality to find out whether Mishra had been lynched or pushed by locals who had caught him stealing a phone. “The locals had also said that Mishra was in an inebriated state, the claim which is still to be verified by his post-mortem report. We are trying to find out whether he fell or he was deliberately pushed,” said Gadhve.

The Kurar police have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating further.