5 booked for murder in Haridwar after man dies following beating over phone theft

The 18-year-old man was allegedly thrashed in Haidwar on suspicion of stealing a mobile phone and a video of the beating was widely shared.

Five men were booked for murder of an 18-year-old man on Tuesday whom they allegedly thrashed on suspicion of stealing a mobile phone in Pathri area of Haridwar, police said.

Police said that the post-mortem report did not specify the cause of death. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The case was registered against them after the deceased’s family lodged a complaint following his death on Monday night at his home in the same area.

On Tuesday, a video of the five beating the deceased Mohsin, went viral on social media platforms in which they could be seen taking turns to beat him with a stick inside a room while asking him about the mobile phone. The victim is seen pleading with them to leave him claiming he did not know about the phone.

“The five accused identified as Shaukeen, Azam, Usman, Jahid and Qurbaan were booked for murder under relevant sections of IPC. However, the video which went viral on Tuesday is about 10 days old,” said Govind Kumar, station house officer, Pathri.

“The cause of the death in his post-mortem report was not beating. Also, there was no injury mark on his body. His viscera samples have been preserved and sent for forensic examination to know the exact reasons of his death,” he said.

He added, “In the investigations it has also come to our knowledge that he was a drug-addict and might have died of overdose. But that can be confirmed after the forensic report comes up.”

On the mobile phone which the accused had alleged him of stealing, Kumar said, “It was found near the home of one of them only after five days of the incident.”