Varanasi teen beaten to death over mobile theft suspicion, six accused absconding

A 17-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men over a suspected mobile phone theft in Panditpur area under Rohania police station limits in Varanasi on Saturday night, with police registering a murder case and launching a search for the accused, TOI reported.

According to police, the prime accused, Ramesh Patel, along with his accomplices, took the teenager from his home in Ghamahapur village on the pretext of recovering a stolen mobile phone. The boy was then assaulted during an altercation, leading to his death.

ACP (Rohania) Sanjiv Sharma said a case of murder has been registered against Patel and six others, and police teams have been formed to ensure their early arrest. He added that Patel has a prior criminal record and had been jailed in 2015 in a cattle smuggling case, as per TOI report.


Family members alleged that the accused had forcibly taken the boy around 9 pm, accusing him of theft and demanding the return of the mobile phone. Instead of taking him to a police outpost as claimed, they allegedly took him near a culvert outside Panditpur village and assaulted him.

The victim was found unconscious at the spot after the accused fled. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

The boy’s uncle, Akhtar Ali, said the victim had been supporting his family as a mason after his father’s death and claimed that Patel had been targeting him for some time, suspecting that the teenager had informed police in a previous case.

Police said all aspects, including the background of the accused and the circumstances leading to the incident, are being investigated.

(With inputs from TOI)