Four arrested after mob thrashes two over theft suspicion in Noida

Noida (UP): Four men, who were part of a crowd that thrashed two persons here after tying them to a pole on suspicion of stealing batteries from auto-rickshaws, have been arrested, police said Saturday.

Mohd Saleem (60), Ajay (36), Jibrail (25) and Akhil Biswas alias Govind (28) were arrested Friday night, hours after a video surfaced on social media purportedly showing the incident, the police said. "The accused were arrested last night after a case was registered against unidentified persons at Sector 20 police station. Those arrested were identified on the basis of their appearance in the videos.

They were held from the local auto stand," Circle Officer, Noida 1st, Kaustubh said. On May 30, the two victims, whose identity still remains unconfirmed, were thrashed by a crowd, including auto-rickshaw drivers, in Sector 26 after locals suspected them to be auto battery thieves. The purported video of the incident got widely circulated on social media by next day, prompting police to file an FIR under the Indian Penal Code sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 342 (wrongful confinement).

"The men, apparently intoxicated, were found sitting in a parked auto-rickshaw with wrench in their hands and then held by the crowd which tied them to a pole with a rope and beat them up in scorching sunlight," according to police.