Man dies of suspected lynching in North West Delhi, three arrested

In a suspected case of lynching, a 28-year-old man was beaten to death by a group of people, after they caught him stealing from a haystack godown in North West Delhi's Swaroop Nagar area on Sunday night.

The deceased, identified as Shankar (28), was found lying in an open field in Vijay Chowk area with multiple injury marks.

Police have detained three persons, who are suspected to be involved in the incident. During their questioning, it emerged that after brutally thrashing him, the accused transported his body 400 m from the spot of the incident to the open field, in a bid to destroy crucial evidence.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West), Milind Dumbre, the police received a PCR call on Monday morning informing them about the incident.

"The PCR call was made around 7.15 am informing us that a man was found lying unconscious in an open field near Vijay Chowk. After preliminary investigation, the body was identified. We also found injury marks on his face. His house was also traced to Jahangirpuri and his family was contacted," said Dumbre.

After the police team took stock of the situation, Shankar's body was shifted to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital. During preliminary inquiry, it was found that he sustained serious injuries to his body and the multiple blows led to his death. Further, a security guard in the area who had witnessed the beating informed the police that he too was thrashed by a group of four-five people. The eyewitness told police that Shankar was confronted by the group after they suspected him of stealing from a haystack godown.

During the confrontation the group started to brutally thrash him with sticks, after which he lost his consciousness.

"During investigation, it was found that the man was beaten by the mob and later instead of contacting the hospital or police, the accused took him to an open field and dumped his body there," said a police source.

Shankar's sister, Manju, was unaware of his death and was informed by one of her neighbours about his body lying in an open field. "They told me about a body. Around 200 people had gathered there. I was just curious as to who it was, and found my brother lying there. I never felt so helpless," she told Millennium Post.

Based on the eyewitness' statement, the police detained three people from the area, who are being questioned. Police are yet to confirming whether Shankar indeed died after being lynching by the accused. "We are yet to ascertain the sequence of events. We are questioning the three people who have been detained. They have told us that Shankar was stealing from the haystack godown after which they beat him. We are also looking into their previous criminal involvements," Dumbre added.