Teens Influenced By Movie Villain's Posh Lifestyle Stab Man To Death, Film The Crime

KEY POINTS

The suspects imitated the look and mannerisms of a gangster in an action-drama
They had planned to film themselves killing a man and post it on Instagram
The victim, a 24-year-old laborer, was taken to hospital but succumbed to the injuries

Three minors aged 15, 16 and 17 have been arrested for allegedly stabbing a man in India and filming the crime. The teens intended to post the video on social media in an attempt to gain recognition and popularity.

The incident came to light after the victim, a 24-year-old laborer named Shibu, was taken to a hospital in the country's national capital, Delhi, with stab wounds in the abdomen. He succumbed to the injuries following which cops registered a case of murder.

The Delhi police apprehended three underage suspects Wednesday in connection to the death.

Upon investigation, officers found CCTV footage that showed the three minors engaging in a scuffle with the victim, The Times of India reported. The trio allegedly started to look for a target on Wednesday and saw Shibu sitting in a park around 2 p.m.

The accused first provoked the victim by throwing stones at him and when he retaliated, they brutally assaulted him, deputy commissioner of police, Usha Rangnani said, as per the outlet.

Two suspects assaulted the victim while the third suspect filmed the attack. "Then as one held the youth from behind, another beat him with a stick and the third youngster stabbed Shibu with a dagger," an officer with knowledge of the case said to Times of India. All three suspects fled the scene after stabbing the man.

According to investigators, the trio was allegedly influenced by the glamorous lifestyle of a gangster portrayed in an action-drama film, "Pushpa." After watching the film, the trio allegedly decided to film themselves killing someone and then upload it on social media to gain fame.

"They called themselves the 'Badnaam gang' and imitated the mannerisms of the main character in the movie. They decided to post a video of the incident on Instagram to show their influence," Rangnani said to The Indian Express.

"They formed the gang one year ago. One of them was earlier apprehended in a criminal case and was released recently," the officer said. The teens were school dropouts, the police said.

Cops were able to recover the incriminating video from one of the minors' cellphone and the dagger used in the crime.