AHMEDABAD: A young man was allegedly beaten to death after six men mistook him and his friend for thieves, abducted them and tied them to a pillar before assaulting them with wooden sticks and electric wires in Gujarat's Surat. Police arrested all six accused within hours of the incident, which took place in the Dindoli area on November 11.
The victims, Anil Rathod and his friend Nilesh alias Gopal, had gone to Saniya Kanade village to cut grass when the accused allegedly suspected them of entering the premises with the intention of committing theft.
The six men allegedly abused the duo with caste-based slurs, forcibly bundled them into a vehicle and took them to a party plot in nearby Karadva village. There, they allegedly tied the two friends to a pillar with ropes and assaulted them with wooden sticks and electric service wires. Anil sustained severe injuries and later succumbed to them.
Following the incident, Dindoli police registered a murder case along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The police team traced the suspects and arrested all six within a few hours of the crime.
Police identified the accused as Vijay alias Sonu Maurya, Rahul Maurya, Abhishek alias Abhi Maurya, Sumit Singh, Sujit Yadav and Mahendra Maurya. Police also seized the rope allegedly used to tie the victims to the pillar, as recorded in the crime scene panchnama.
Confirming the incident, ACP Sunil Tarde said the two men had gone to the party plot to cut grass when the accused suspected them of theft and took the law into their own hands.
"The accused allegedly formed an unlawful assembly, abducted the victims and took them to another party plot, where they tied them up and brutally assaulted them with electric wires and wooden sticks. The assault proved fatal for Anil," Tarde said.
He further said the Surat Dindoli police surveillance team acted promptly and arrested all six accused within a very short period.
"Preliminary investigations have not revealed any previous criminal record against the accused. However, their individual roles, the circumstances leading to the assault and other aspects of the crime are being examined through further interrogation," the ACP added.
