Man beaten to death on suspicion of being an informer, 5 held

DCP (Dwarka) Shankar Chaudhary said the incident took place on April 23 and they have arrested five men and apprehended four juveniles. Police said three persons, including two minors, are yet to be nabbed.

A purported video of the incident, which went viral online, shows the victim being brutally beaten up with a belt and sticks.

Police said they received information from the victim’s family at 8.31 pm. “Police came to know that the victim was approached by the accused. They started beating him and he ran to the terrace to save himself. He jumped across rooftops, but the accused… thrashed him… they later took him to (another area) where he was beaten to death,” an officer said.

The victim succumbed to injuries at a hospital on April 26. Police had first registered an FIR under IPC section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) which was then converted to IPC section 302 (punishment for murder) after due medical and legal consultation. Sections of rioting were also added in the case, police said.

During investigation, police found that some of the accused were earlier arrested on charges of theft and recently released on bail. “They suspected the victim was a police informer… They used to be friends, but the victim and one of the accused got into an argument during Holi,” the officer said.

His sister said, “I informed police about the incident when they dumped my brother’s body outside our house. During Holi, my brother had put colour on a woman friend. The accused objected to this and they got into a fight…”