Indian police on Tuesday revealed that a Muslim man succumbed to severe injuries in New Delhi shortly after he was brutally beaten in India’s national capital after he allegedly "stole a small amount of food" from a temple.
Isar Mohammad, a 26-year-old man, was killed on Tuesday after being tortured while being tied to a pole following accusations that hestole some prasad (food offerings) and INR20 from a pile of offerings made by worshippers of the Hindu deity Ganesha at a temporary installation during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration.
A graphic video of five men assaulting Isar as he begs them to stop has gone viral on social media showing the blood-curdling incident.
According to the police, Isar had a mental disability and was unable to defend himself or reason with temple officials.
“He was cold like a dead body when he was brought back to our house. Seeing him like that, I too died with him,” his sister Umrana Mohammad told news portal The Quint.
Shortly after Isar died from his injuries on Tuesday night, his father Abdul Wajid called the police to report the incident. The family said he was not a thief and had picked up the food from the offering because he was hungry, The Independent reported.
The authorities have registered a murder case in the matter and arrested seven people, including Kamal, 23, his brother Manoj, 19, Yunus, 20, Kishan, 19, Pappu, Lucky, a food stall owner, and a 17-year-old who has not been named, reported the outlet.
According to The Quint, a police official on the condition of anonymity said that there was no religious motivation for the crime.
“The accused claimed that around 5am, they caught Isar lurking around the area and thought that he was a thief,” Joy N Tirkey, a senior police official, was quoted as saying by The Indian Express newspaper.
“They asked him questions but he was unable to reply properly since he was mentally challenged. They then tied him to an electric pole and thrashed him.”
Isar was found squirming in pain, lying outside the house, with injury marks all over his body, according to the victim's father, who reported the incident to the police. One of their neighbours brought him home, and shortly after, according to the Press Trust of India, Isar passed away from his wounds.
According to The Indian Express, which cited a police source, the victim's body had blunt-force injuries all over it, including his head, back, arms, and legs.
His death was attributed to "shock and haemorrhage," according to the post-mortem report.