iPhone killing: Flipkart says ‘extending support’ to delivery partner’s family

Homegrown ecommerce company Flipkart said on Tuesday that it was “extending all possible support and assistance” to the family of a delivery executive who was killed earlier this month by a customer who did not have the money to pay for an iPhone he had ordered online.

The incident came to light on Monday, but the victim, Hemanth Naik, had been killed on the morning of February 7 in Hassan district of Karnataka.

Naik had joined Flipkart's logistics arm e-Kart about nine months ago.


“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of our delivery executive. Our deepest sympathies are with the bereaved family, and we are extending all possible support and assistance to them," a Flipkart spokesperson said.

Hariram Shankar, the Superintendent of Police of Hassan district, told ET that the accused – Hemantha Datta - ordered an iPhone on Flipkart through the cash-on-delivery option.

Datta – who did not have the money to pay for his purchase - asked the victim to wait inside the house while he arranged for cash, Shankar said.

As Naik waited, Datta stabbed him with a knife multiple times, leading to his death. Three days later, he drove to the nearest railway track and burnt the body, Shankar said.

Meanwhile, the police were on the lookout for the victim after receiving a missing complaint from his elder brother on February 8.

Shankar said Naik’s delivery record showed that only two of his seven deliveries for the day had been made, and Datta’s house had been the third. After narrowing down the address and checking CCTV movements of the victim, the police confronted the accused and later arrested him.

“We have already collected all the forensic evidence and we have already taken him to police custody,” Shankar said.

“Now it is about linking all the movements, phone records, checking additional CCTV footage and filing a chargesheet.”