A 26-year-old man died after he was allegedly tied to a pole and thrashed by some people who suspected him of being a thief in northeast Delhi’s Sunder Nagri.

According to police, the incident took place on Tuesday morning at G4 block of the locality. The victim was identified as Israr Ahmed, 26, who was tied to a pole and beaten with sticks in the Sunder Nagri area. The video of the incident, which is in wide circulation on social media now, shows Israr tied to a pole as the men take turns to hit him with sticks.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said, fruit vendor Abdul Wajid (60), a resident of Sunder Nagri, lodged a complaint claiming that his son Isar died after being assaulted by some people on suspicion of theft.

“We got a call around 10:45 pm on Tuesday from a man that his son was killed. We reached the spot and saw that the body of the 26-year-old Isar was kept outside their home. We got to know that he was beaten up by a few people in the morning because they thought Isar was a thief. Maybe he was tied up and beaten. It is also being said that Isar was mentally challenged but it is not confirmed yet. He succumbed to his injuries in the evening. We have registered a case of murder,” Tirkey said.

According to Wajid, when he reached his house on Tuesday evening, he saw his son lying outside, writhing in pain. There were injury marks all over his body, the DCP said.

Isar told his father that around 5 am, some youngsters caught him near G4 block and accused him of stealing. They then tied him to a pole and thrashed him with sticks. He said the assailants lived near the G4 block, Tirkey said.

Their neighbour Aamir brought Isar home in a rickshaw and at around 7 pm, he succumbed to injuries, the officer said.

Wajid informed the police and the body was shifted to GTB Hospital where an autopsy will be conducted, the DCP said.

According to the preliminary investigation, the victim was mentally challenged, police said. He was tied to an electric pole and assaulted by the perpetrators as he could not give satisfactory answers to their questions, they said.