Man Brutally Beaten To Death After Being Mistaken For Molester's Accomplice: Police

A 26-year-old man was beaten to death by a mob in the Indian state of Haryana earlier this week after he was misidentified as an accomplice of a molester, police said.

The man — identified by police as Anuj Kumar Gautam — had been standing on the road with his brother-in-law in Gurugram's Sector 37 on Monday afternoon when the two were forced into a car and taken to a sports academy, newspaper The Times of India reported.

A 17-year-old Class XI student who was molested by a biker on her way to practice prior to the beating had misidentified the two as accomplices of the molester as they were standing outside of an office building, police said.

“Two persons from the academy went to pick up the girl and they brought two people, suspecting their involvement in [the] harassment. Later, they brought a third person to the academy. All three of them were beaten and held hostage,” assistant commissioner of police Preet Pal Sangwan was quoted as saying.

Gautam's brother-in-law, identified as 32-year-old Sanjay, said they had gone to an office in the area to discuss some work with a contractor named Chandan, according to the report.

The two Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh residents had been talking after Chandan left when a black Hyundai Verna sedan stopped next to them and two men came out of the car, while a girl remained in the back seat.

"They accused us of misbehaving with her. We denied it but they wouldn't listen to us. They abused us, dragged us into the car and drove off," Sanjay was quoted as saying by the outlet.

At least six people allegedly attacked Gautam and Sanjay at the academy, including a relative of the owner and a coach, who were identified as Manjit and Manish, respectively.

"Hearing our cries, many people assembled at the spot. Some of them asked them not to thrash us, fearing we may die," Sanjay said. He added that the two of them were locked inside a toilet while the mob left to bring Chandan to the academy as they thought he was responsible for molesting the girl.

The group then allegedly started to beat all three men after Chandan was brought to the academy. Gautam — who had been flogged with sticks and rods — succumbed to his injuries at the academy, police said.

"They brought us outside the toilet. [Gautam] fell unconscious and collapsed," Sanjay said. The group then reportedly fled the scene following Gautam's collapse.

Chandan left on his own while Gautam and Sanjay were brought to a hospital, where the 26-year-old was declared dead on arrival. Sanjay, meanwhile, suffered non-critical injuries.

Authorities are awaiting an autopsy report on Gautam’s body.

A case was filed under sections 147, 148, 149 (rioting,) 302 (murder,) 323 (voluntarily causing harm) and 364 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 10's police station based on a complaint filed by Sanjay.

One person allegedly involved in the beating — identified as Binda Prasad — was arrested Monday evening. A team had been formed to conduct searches and arrest the other people involved in the attack, according to police.

The biker who allegedly molested the girl had been identified and authorities are now searching for him.