Man tied to tree, beaten to death in Delhi over mobile phone theft

The four men tied the victim and beat him up with sticks and iron rods

Four persons were arrested for allegedly beating a 32-year-old man to death on charges that he stole a mobile phone in west Delhi’s Naraina on Friday, the police said.

Shesh Kumar, an eyewitness, told police that he saw his four neighbours assaulting the man.(HT Photo)

The police control room received a call about the incident at a municipal park in Loha Mandi on Friday morning, deputy commissioner of police (west) Deepak Purohit said. He added that a team from the Naraina police station reached there and found a man lying under a tree with injuries.

Shesh Kumar, an eyewitness and a washerman, told police that he saw his four neighbours assaulting the man and taking him to the park early morning, Purohit said. Kumar told officials that the four men tied the victim to a tree and beat him up with sticks and iron rods, according to Purohit.

“Kumar tried to intervene and requested them to release the injured person. But they did not pay heed to his request and said the man and his associates had stolen a mobile phone from a truck. Since his associates ran away with the mobile phone, they said they would not spare him,” Purohit said, quoting Kumar’s statement.

The four men --- identified as Mushtaq Ahmed, his brother Shiraj Ahmed, Anish and Ishtihar (all residents of Loha Mandi) --- fled the crime scene after the condition of the victim deteriorated.

The victim was later identified as Rahul, alias Dhancha, a 32-year-old resident of Jawahar Camp in Kirti Nagar.

The police took him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.

The suspects were soon arrested. They said Rahul and his associates had stolen Shiraj’s cellphone from his truck. While they caught hold of Rahul, his associates escaped with the stolen phone.

“We are verifying the allegations of the arrested men,” said an official associated with the probe, requesting anonymity.

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