A 22-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death in Delhi's Bawana after he was suspected of a conspiracy to spread COVID-19, police said on Wednesday.

The victim has been identified as Mehboob Ali, a resident of Harewali village in Bawana, they said.

Police said Ali had gone to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh for a Tablighi Jamaat conference and returned to the national capital in a truck of vegetables after 45 days.

He was held at the Azadpur vegetable market and released after a medical examination.

Police said when he reached his village, rumours spread that Ali had a plan to spread coronavirus.

He was thrashed in the fields on Sunday. He was rushed to a hospital by police where he died, a senior police officer said.

Police registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and arrested three persons, they added.

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