Delhi factory worker held for beating man to death on suspicion of theft
Police said that apart from the murder case, a separate case of trespass and theft was also registered against the suspect
New Delhi: Two days after a 19-year-old man was allegedly lynched by a group of people after allegedly being caught stealing a mobile phone from a factory in Shahzada Bagh near north Delhi’s Inderlok, police on Monday said they arrested a 36-year-old worker of the factory for his alleged involvement in the crime.
The factory worker, along with several people, kicked and punched the suspected thief, and assaulted him with plastic pipes and belts, leading to his subsequent death. They also chopped his hair off with a pair of scissors to “teach him a lesson”, police said.
Police said they received a call at the Sarai Rohilla police station on Saturday morning, informing them of a body lying in a lane in Shahzada Bagh. A police team reached the spot and found multiple injuries on the body. The man’s chopped hair was found scattered in the lane, a few metres away from the body, deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said.
Local inquiries helped police identify the dead man as one Izhar, a resident of Tent Wali Gali in Shahzada Bagh. His body has been preserved in the Subzi Mandi mortuary. A case of murder, destruction of evidence and common intention has been registered under Indian Penal Code’s sections 302, 201 and 34 against unknown suspects, police said.
During the investigation, DCP Kalsi said, various CCTV cameras installed around the crime scene were scanned and their footage analysed. The analysis and local inquiries revealed that around 4am on Saturday, Izhar had entered a factory at Shahzada Bagh and was stealing a mobile phone when one of the workers at the factory, identified by his first name as Gyani, caught him red-handed.
“Gyani punched him a few times, and brought him out of the factory where a crowd joined him in assaulting him using their fists, plastic pipes and belts. Gyani also cut his hair using a pair of scissors that he later hid in the factory. We arrested Gyani on Sunday. Efforts are on to identify and nab other attackers,” added Kalsi.
Police said that apart from the murder case, a separate case of trespass and theft was also registered against Izhar in connection with his crime.
The incident is the second such case reported from north Delhi in less than a month. On August 19, a group of people allegedly assaulted a man, partially shaved his hair off, and publically humiliated him by forcing him to clean drains after they caught him stealing a water motor pump from a house in Wazirabad village.
The August incident was recorded by some onlookers on their cellphones. A few also streamed it live on social media websites, prompting police to reach the spot and rescue the alleged thief. A case was registered and some suspects were arrested after police identified them by analysing the viral videos. All the arrested persons are presently out on bail, said a police officer.