Gang posing as cops used dating apps to extort men, four held

New Delhi: A 23-year-old man was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a de-addiction centre in northwest Delhi’s Aman Vihar on Saturday morning.His family has alleged foul play and claimed that he was physically assaulted, leading to his death. However, police have said no evidence of murder has surfaced so far.The deceased, identified as Prince, was a resident of Sultanpuri and had reportedly been battling drug addiction for nearly two-and-a-half years. According to his family, they had admitted him to the centre after coming across an advertisement pasted on a wall around nine months back.According to the cops, Prince was found lying unresponsive on his bed in the morning. Inquiry and CCTV footage from the centre showed him drinking water before going to sleep the previous night, after which he did not wake up, police said.Speaking to TOI, Prince’s brother Jai Prakash claimed that the family had reached the centre after receiving a call around 6.30 am. “There were injury marks on his neck, stomach and arms. We think either the staff or some other patient must have assaulted him,” he alleged.Prince is survived by his parents and three brothers. His father runs a small grocery shop, while Prince would occasionally work as a labourer or take up odd jobs before being admitted to the facility. The family said they regularly visited him, and his father had met him around 10 days ago. According to them, Prince had never complained about any mistreatment during his stay.Police, however, denied the allegations of visible assault injuries. A senior police officer said no external injury marks have been observed so far and that no evidence suggesting foul play emerged during the initial probe. “The exact cause of death will be established only after the post-mortem report is received,” the officer added.Earlier in March, a 22-year-old man was allegedly killed by another patient at a de-addiction facility in outer Delhi’s Alipur. In Dec last year, another patient died at a facility in southwest Delhi’s Dichaun Kalan. His family had alleged assault and the owner had been arrested under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.