THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Five autorickshaw drivers who allegedly killed a mentally challenged man after burning his genitals with a hot machete have been arrested by Thiruvallom police.
Ajesh, a 30-year-old man from Vandithadam, was attacked by the group on Saturday night near Thiruvallom alleging that he had stolen the valuables from a Malappuram native.
The Malappuram native was sleeping at the Central Bus Stand, Thampanoor when he found that his bag containing Rs 40,000 and a mobile phone had been stolen.
The police said the man told this to the auto drivers, who suspecting that Ajesh had committed the crime, kidnapped him from near Thampanoor railway station.
The men then took Ajesh to his house at Pappanchani near Vandithadom where he was beaten up and brutalized.
Since they could not recover the stolen phone from him, they singed his abdomen and genitals with a hot country-made sword.
Ajesh managed to flee from his captives but collapsed on to the ground a few yards away. He was admitted to Medical College Hospital where he breathed his last on Monday early morning.
The arrested have been identified as Jineesh, Naseer, Arun, Robinson and Sajan.