Delhi man accused of mobile phone theft drinks acid, dies

The dead man, identified as Vicky, used to live at a JJ colony in Wazirpur, and was employed at the public toilet, where he died.

A 25-year-old man, accused of stealing his colleague’s mobile phone, died after he allegedly drank acid kept inside a public toilet in northwest Delhi’s Bharat Nagar on July 9. The man who had accused the victim of theft has been arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide, police said.

Representational image. (iStockphoto)

The dead man, identified as Vicky, used to live at a JJ colony in Wazirpur, and was employed at the public toilet, where he died. According to police, the victim’s father told them that a man, whom he did not know, came running to their house at 8.15 am and told him that his son has drank acid.

“The 70-year-old father, Baaliram, rushed to the spot and found his son lying inside the toilet complex. Baaliram said that on asking, his son told him that he consumed acid because his colleague, Rajkumar (30), had accused him of stealing a mobile phone,” said a senior police officer who is not authorised to speak to the media.

Baaliram said he rushed his son to a nearby hospital in an e-rickshaw after he complained of severe stomach ache. Doctors at the hospital referred him to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, he said. “Vicky died during treatment. In his complaint to police, Vicky’s father said the man who accused him of theft had also assaulted him. He also claimed that his son consumed acid only because he was accused of theft by Rajkumar,” the officer said.

Police maintained that Baaliram told them that his son, Vicky, was in an inebriated condition at the time of incident and that he was a habitual drinker.

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest), Aslam Khan, said a case of abetment to suicide has been registered and the accused has been arrested. “Rajkumar is a temporary employee of the public toilet. We are getting the CCTV footage to be able to establish the sequence of event. The matter is being probed from all possible angles,” she said.