The Delhi Police have arrested four men in connection with the alleged lynching of 28-year-old Shankar over suspicion that he was stealing from a haystack godown in north-west Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar. The arrests were made on Tuesday, two days after the allegedly mentally unstable man was killed.
More arrests likely
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said the accused —Anoop, Harender, Andip and Subhash — have been arrested in connection with the case and that more arrests were likely.
Mr. Dumbere added that the accused have also been booked for destruction of evidence, as they had dumped Shankar’s body in an open field that was nearly half a kilometre away from the spot where he was beaten up. The police also said that in a bid to mislead the investigators, the accused allegedly attempted to change Shankar’s clothes after his death.
‘Under treatment’
The family members of the victim have told investigators that he was mentally unstable and had been under treatment for the last three years.
When the accused were questioned, they purportedly disclosed that they had seen Shankar loitering around the haystack godown and suspected him of theft.
“When they overpowered and confronted Shankar, he denied the allegations. They claim that his retort was aggressive and an enraged Shankar even abused them. They said a fight broke out and they pinned Shankar down a tractor-trailer and beat him up,” said another police officer.
Guard is witness
Shankar’s family members also said that he was tied to a tractor and then beaten up. Shankar’s murder came to the fore on Monday around 7.45 a.m. when a passerby found his body in an open field in Vijay Chowk area and informed the police.
The police found multiple injury marks on his body and registered a murder case.
The case was first reported to the police as the finding of an unidentified body. The beating was suspected because of the nature of the injuries and the statement of a security guard in the area who had allegedly witnessed the assault.
