A 16-year-old boy was beaten to death late on Saturday by three friends in east Delhi's Pandav Nagar. He had complained to one of the boy's mother about her son's attempts to extort money for smoking.
Sandeep Kumar, a student of Class IX, was assaulted by a trio — all of whom were minors and lived in the neighbourhood. They have been held. Investigation revealed that one of juveniles would extort money from the boys of the Mahatma Gandhi Camp in Shashi Garden area to maintain a smoking habit. "A few days ago, he had demanded money from Sandeep and thrashed him when he refused. The victim complained to the mother of the juvenile. Infuriated with this, the juvenile was looking for an opportunity to teach Sandeep a lesson," said a senior police officer.
On Saturday, around 7.50 pm, Sandeep was heading for his tuition centre. "He was waylaid by the juveniles and mercilessly beaten up. The attackers managed to escape," the officer added. A passerby made a PCR call, after which police reached the spot. Sandeep was taken to lal Bhadur Shastri Hospital but died on the way because of severe internal injuries. "Based on the victim's father complaint, a case was registered under Sections 302 (murder) and 34 IPC at Pandav Nagar Police Station. After several raids, three juveniles have been apprehended," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Ajay Kumar.