Rickshaw driver beaten to death with belt and iron rods in Palghar

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A 38-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was beaten to death on suspicion of being a thief in Maharashtra's Palghar district, the police said on Sunday. The incident took place near Chinchoti on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in the small hours of Saturday. Naseem Shaikh, the victim, was resident of Sopara in the district.

Police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said that three men, who were identified as residents of Asha Nagar in Chinchoti, stopped Shaikh when he was driving his auto-rickshaw around 3.30 am and accused him of being in the area with the intention of committing a theft.

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They beat him up with a belt and iron rods, killing him on the spot, the police spokesperson said. While the police have identified the accused trio, nobody has been arrested yet. A case of murder has been registered at Waliv police station and further probe was on, Katkar said.

In another incident, two men were arrested for allegedly robbing and killing a 16-year-old e-rickshaw driver in New Delhi. The accused were identified as Aftab (19) and Prakash (18), they added. The police were alerted about a body found at Uttam Nagar area. There were serious injury marks on the head of the deceased and bloodstained stones near the body, police said. The deceased was identified as Chand Mohammad (16).

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said. "Around 50 rag pickers, scrap dealers and vagabonds were interrogated and CCTV footage was collected, wherein the accused were seen boarding Mohammad's e-rickshaw," police said.
During the investigation, Aftab and Prakash were apprehended and they confessed to the crime.

"The accused were addicted to drugs but did not have money. They planned to rob Mohammad. They asked him to come with them under a bridge to take the fare," Alphonse said. The accused person tried to rob Mohammad, however, he raised an alarm, following which he was bludgeoned to death, police said.

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With inputs from PTI

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