A 23-year-old man was tied to a tree and allegedly thrashed to death by four men who suspected him of theft. The incident took place in West Delhi’s Naraina on August 29.

The accused, Istihar (30), Anish (24), Mustaq Ahmed (32) and his brother Shiraj (28), allegedly dragged the victim, Rahul, to a park, tied him to a tree and beat him up with sticks and an iron rod till he succumbed to his injuries.

The accused have been arrested, police said.

Police said that Rahul was unemployed and was released from jail nearly 20 days ago after he was arrested in a case of theft.

‘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,’ an eyewitness, Shesh Kumar told the police.

‘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,’ he added.

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.’

Rahul’s family was informed about his death around 7 am.

Rahul’s mother Guddi said: ‘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.’

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