Man beaten to death on suspicion of theft, crematorium priest is prime suspect

A 23-year-old man was beaten to death, allegedly by a priest at a crematorium in south Delhi’s Chhatarpur, after he was suspected of stealing from the priest’s home

A 23-year-old man was beaten to death, allegedly by a priest at a crematorium in south Delhi’s Chhatarpur, after he was suspected of stealing from the priest’s home in the early hours of Wednesday, the police said.

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The police were waiting for the autopsy report before registering an FIR, but they eventually filed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder on Thursday evening, before the report came.

Atul Kumar Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (south), said that investigation into the death is ongoing and the priest, Gaurav Mishra, was yet to be arrested.

The victim, Sunil, worked as a helper of a mini truck and was a substance user, said the DCP.

Sunil’s alleged attempt to steal from Mishra’s residence located on the crematorium premises was brought to the police’s notice around 6.30am on Wednesday.

By the time the police reached the crematorium, the suspect had already fled.

But around noon, the police received a phone call from Sunil’s brother that he had been killed. According to the DCP, it so happened that Sunil’s colleague was looking for him when he spotted his body in a forested area adjacent to the crematorium.

The DCP said prima facie it emerged that Mishra had beaten up Sunil on catching him trying to steal from his home.

“We also have a couple of eyewitnesses to support that allegation, but we are continuing the investigation. We have registered a case at the Mehrauli police station,” the DCP said.