Mumbai: Mob beats 26-year-old to death believing he was a phone thief

Vijay Sohni alias Abhishek, 26, the alleged phone thief. Pics/Hanif Patel

A mob of 8-10 people allegedly killed a man suspected of stealing a mobile phone. The individual is identified as Vijay Sohni alias Abhishek, 26. The police described Sohni as a habitual offender with 6-7 previous cases against him.

The incident came to light on June 26, when Vaibhav Mishra came forward to give a statement. Mishra, a resident of Valipada, reported that on June 26, his cousin Ajay Mishra ran to his house and claimed that a phone had been stolen from his aunt's residence.

Santoshimata Mandir, the place where the incident happened

Vaibhav Mishra then approached the police station to register an FIR, however he couldn't give accurate information as Ajay was not present. "The phone had been stolen from Ajay's residence and he was not present in the police station. Vaibhav couldn't give accurate information and hence he went back," said the police.

In the meantime, Ajay Mishra's sister-in-law called the stolen phone number and an unknown lady received the call and stated that the stolen phone had been recovered from Santoshimata Mandir. Vaibhav Mishra reached the spot and noticed that a group had allegedly beaten the alleged thief.

"When Vaibhav reached the spot, he requested the mob not to beat the accused, however, the mob did not listen and continued to beat him with bamboos. Vaibhav then dialled 112 and called the police," said the police. The accused was then taken to hospital and the doctors declared him dead on arrival. "We have registered an FIR against the mob and an investigation is underway," said police officer Kumar Dhanwade.

The police have arrested four people and booked the entire group under Section 302 (murder),143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object).