Mumbai: Four people have been arrested for allegedly beating a suspected thief to death in suburban Mulund on Wednesday evening.
Police officials said the deceased, a 28-year-old Bhandup resident, had entered a house intending to steal a mobile phone and other valuables.
One of the four occupants of the house noticed and caught him, a police officer said.
He further said that all the four occupants of the house, aged between 20 and 25 years, then assaulted the decease with wooden sticks, killing him on the spot.
The arrested accused, identified as Sachin Kumar Sharma, Sunil Kumar Shaha, Santosh Sahani and Sulabh Sahani, all natives of Bihar, had taken the house on rent and were at different places in the city.
According to the police, the deceased, Mohammed Rafique Mohammed Shafique Shaikh, 28, was a resident of the Prakash Nagar area in Bhandup (west).
The incident took place on Wednesday evening when Shaikh allegedly entered the accused’s house to steal a mobile phone and other valuables. One of the accused was sitting outside and nabbed him while stealing a mobile phone, said senior inspector Kantilal Kothimbire of the Mulund police station.
The accused then assaulted Shaikh due to which he sustained severe injuries on his chest and other parts of the body.
Some locals then informed the police and a team reached the spot. Shaikh was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead, added Kothimbire.
Shaikh had five to six cases of theft cases registered against him at Bhandup police station, he added.