NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old student from Assam was brutally beaten at a south Delhi colony on Friday by residents who allegedly thought he was a burglar.
The student, Arbaz Ahmed from Guwahati, is in hospital with fractures in his limbs and jaw. He was found trying to break the lock of a neighbour’s house, allegedly in a drunken state.
The police say Arbaz had returned in the early hours of Friday, the day of Holi, and mistook his neighbour’s house for his own. When his key did not work, he allegedly tried to force the lock. Alerted by the noise, the owner of the house and other neighbours woke up and allegedly thrashed him.
Arbaz, an IAS aspirant, has lived in the area for two years.
“We got a call at around 1:30 am from locals that they have caught a thief. A team rushed to the spot and took him to the hospital,” a police spokesman said. On checking his identity, they discovered that his home is in the same area.
Arbaz’s home and the one he tried to enter were both on the same floor and police are convinced that he mistakenly tried to enter his neigbour’s house. A case has been registered based on his statement and CCTV footage is being checked.
