A 16-year-old boy was beaten to death in north-west Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar on Friday after he was allegedly caught trying to burgle a house in the neighbourhood, police said.

The assault took place in the morning and the boy was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries by evening, Vijayanta Arya, deputy commissioner of police (north-west), said.

This is the second such incident in the outer limits of Delhi in the last three days — a 21-year-old man was beaten to death by a husband and wife in nearby Bawana in the early hours of Tuesday.

The latest incident happened in Lal Bagh neighbourhood of Adarsh Nagar around 5am, the officer said. “The boy was trying to break into a house, but its occupants woke up and raised the alarm,” DCP Arya said.

The officer said neighbours soon gathered and caught hold of the boy. “They kicked and punched him, leaving him badly injured,” the officer said.

Arya said the number of assailants was yet to be ascertained, but at least five attackers have been identified. “We have arrested four of them and are trying to arrest the fifth,” he said.

The boy was later taken to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries during treatment. “We had earlier registered a case of assault, but it will now be converted into a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” the DCP said.

First Published: Jul 26, 2019 22:22 IST