Two arrested for lynching beggar, for practising ‘black magic’

MUMBAI: Two beggars, Krishna Gupta and Sonu Kanojia, were arrested for lynching Babu Mehtar, suspecting him of black magic, during a fight in Juhu.

MUMBAI: Suspecting a 35-year-old man was practising black magic against them, two men allegedly lynched him in a fight on Sunday near Willingdon Health Camp in Juhu at Vandre West. The Juhu police on Monday arrested the two for murder.

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The incident occurred on Sunday, around 10pm on the footpath near the Willingdon Health Camp in Juhu at Vandre West. The victim, Babu Mehtar, and the two accused – Krishna Gupta, 55, and Sonu Kanojia, 45 - were beggars. They had known each other for three years and had slept on the same footpath in Vile Parle. The accused told the police that Mehtar constantly harassed and verbally abused Gupta while demanding money from him.

On Sunday night, an argument broke out after Gupta accused Mehtar of practising black magic on him. The two began to fight, and Kanojia joined in to support Gupta. In a fit of rage, Gupta allegedly used a wooden piece to slam on Mehtar’s head, which caused him to collapse on the spot, said a police officer.

Police sub-inspector Narendra Namdev Teli, attached to the Juhu police station, said, “The accused were arrested and produced before the Bandra metropolitan magistrate court on Monday and remanded to police custody for three days,” he said.