A 23-year-old man was tied to a tree and allegedly beaten to death by four men who suspected he had stolen a mobile phone, police said Saturday.

A 23-year-old man was tied to a tree and allegedly beaten to death by four men who suspected he had stolen a mobile phone, police said Saturday. The incident took place in West Delhi’s Naraina.

The accused, Istihar (30), Anish (24), Mustaq Ahmed (32) and his brother Shiraj (28), allegedly dragged the victim, Rahul, to a park early on Friday. Police said they tied him to a tree and beat him up with sticks and an iron rod till he died. The accused have been arrested, police said.

Police said Rahul was unemployed and was released from jail 15-20 days ago after being arrested in a case of petty theft.

Police said they were informed about the incident by an eyewitness, Shesh Kumar. He told police, “I woke up around 5.30 am and found my neighbours beating up a man. I was shocked… the man was being dragged to a nearby park.

They were carrying sticks and one of them had an iron rod. I asked them to leave the man, but they told me he’s a thief and threatened me as well.”

Kumar called police and filed a complaint against the accused, who work as truck drivers.

DCP (West) Deepak Purohit said, “The police team found Rahul under a tree. He was already dead. There were multiple injuries on his body and some looked severe. A rope and a stole were also found near the body. We registered a murder case based on Kumar’s statement.”

Police sent their teams to the area and arrested all four men. During questioning, the accused claimed that Rahul and his associate stole Shiraj’s mobile phone from his truck. The others witnessed it and chased the men, but they could only catch Rahul. The accused then took him to a park and thrashed him. When his condition deteriorated, the accused said they left the spot.

Rahul’s family received information of his death around 7 am. His mother Guddi claimed: “Since he had been caught before in cases of theft, locals and police target him. Last week, a group of men thrashed him because they thought he stole their wallets, but they were wrong. Rahul fractured his left hand. On Friday, he told us he wants to start a new life and will look for a job. He got married recently and wanted to help us. He left home after his friend called him. We didn’t know that he would be thrashed like this. Even if he did commit theft, the accused shouldn’t have beaten him like this.”

Rahul lived with his mother and his wife in Kirti Nagar.