MUMBAI: A 30-year-old mobile thief died hours after he was allegedly tied to a pole and thrashed by six people inside Muktanand Park in Santacruz (west). The incident occurred in the early hours of December 25 when Saijjad Khan reportedly went to the park to steal mobile phones of labourers who had kept their devices to charge while they were asleep.
Santacruz police on Sunday arrested six people- Hrishikesh Pasi (24), Hyat Ali (26), Alimuddin Shaikh (24), Motibur Alam (19), Maskar Firojjuddin (18) and Pintukumar Shah (25)-from the park. The six accused have been employed for repair work at the park. After completing their day's work, they sleep in the park at night. The incident occurred between 12.30 am and 4.30 am. "A few labourers, who were awake, caught Khan, and tied him to a pole and thrashed him before letting him off. A few minutes later, Khan returned to the same spot and got into an argument with the accused who again assaulted him. After the incident, he spotted two of his friends nearby and told them he had met with a minor accident," a police official said.
Khan's family found him unconscious in a parked autorickshaw close to his home on Sakharam Buva Patil Marg, said police. He was taken to Bhabha Hospital, but declared brought dead. "Khan succumbed two hours after he was attacked. He was booked earlier in cases of theft in Santacruz and Khar," said senior inspector Shriram Koregaonkar.