Teen Suspected Of Theft Thrashed, Left Injured, Only To Be Mauled To Death By Dogs

A 16-year-old boy in India was mauled to death by dogs after he was brutally thrashed by three people, including a farmhouse owner, over suspicion of theft and left injured on the road, police said.

The teen, identified as Sandeep Mahto, and his two friends had entered a farmhouse in India’s capital Delhi around 11.30 a.m. local time Wednesday morning. A security guard of the farmhouse saw the boys and raised an alarm thinking they could be thieves. Soon, the guard and the owner of the farmhouse, Prakrati Sandhu, caught hold of the teen while his friends managed to escape, NDTV reported.

Sandhu, the guard, and another man started thrashing the teen with a stick, leaving him severely injured, police said. As the teen attempted to flee outside, he fell on the road, following which he was viciously mauled by a pack of dogs. The teen died several hours later, police officials said.

Around 4.30 p.m. Wednesday, a man saw the teen lying on the heap and immediately called police. Police officials rushed to the scene and declared him dead.

There were several laceration wounds on the victim’s back and a cut mark on his hand, police said, adding there were also several marks of dog bites all over his body, Hindustan Times reported.

Police registered a case of murder and launched a manhunt for the owner of the farmhouse, who fled the scene after beating the victim.

"Through local inquiry, we identified the boy and met his family members. A case of murder was registered and an investigation was taken up," a police officer told Hindustan Times.

Following a search, Sandhu and the other two attackers were traced and taken into custody Thursday, the report said.

Police said the teen had no criminal records and they were investigating to find out why he and his friends had entered the farmhouse.

Earlier this week, three men in the Indian state of Tripura were arrested after the decomposed body of a missing 16-year-old boy was found buried deep in a forest, two weeks after the teen and his friends were attacked by the men on suspicion of theft.