Man dies days after being thrashed over attempted ‘theft’ in Delhi, two truck drivers held

A man died at a Delhi hospital days after he was allegedly tied up and thrashed with belts, fists and kicks by truck drivers who suspected that he was attempting to steal cables from their vehicles in outer north Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy area, an official said on Sunday.

Police have arrested two men after the incident.

Ram Kumar (18), a resident of Kalandar Colony, was allegedly caught along with four others by truck drivers while they were attempting to steal cable and other articles from trucks in the evening of August 29, he said.

Police said Kumar’s brother made a PCR call about the incident and claimed that the truckers allegedly beat him up.

“On August 30, Kumar’s family took him to Burari Hospital, where a medico-legal case (MLC) was prepared. Kumar was examined for bruises and laceration on his hand, a black eye and bruising on his leg, among other injuries. No vital or grievous injury was observed, and there was no active bleeding, loss of consciousness or vomiting,” the officer said.

He was provided treatment and discharged from the hospital. The matter was looked into at that time, but the family refused to take legal action.

Kumar again visited Burari Hospital on September 9 for a check-up and complained of breathlessness. He was subsequently referred to the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital and later to Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis Hospital. He died at Rajan Babu TB Hospital on the intervening night of September 9 and 10, the officer said.

Following information about his death, a PCR call was received at Bhalswa Dairy police station at 12:36 am on September 10, regarding the death of a man who had earlier been beaten over suspicion of theft, police said.

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“An FIR was registered and the two accused, identified as Muntiyaz and Naeem, both truck drivers were arrested. Teams were constituted to trace the remaining accused and have been dispatched to different locations,” the officer said.

The post-mortem of Kumar was conducted on September 12 to ascertain the exact cause of death. Further investigation is underway, he added.