Man beaten to death on suspicion of theft

Aurangabad: A 28-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death on suspicion of theft at a rice mill in Aurangabad district on Wednesday night, triggering outrage and a police investigation into the incident.The incident took place at Bhagwati Rice Mill in Siris village under Barun police station area. According to initial information, the rice mill had been witnessing repeated incidents of paddy theft over the past few days. On Wednesday night, mill employees allegedly noticed a young man along with three others attempting to steal paddy from the premises.The employees chased the group and managed to catch one person while the other three managed to flee. The detained man was allegedly subjected to a severe physical assault by the mill staff, leaving him critically injured. After receiving information, police reached the spot and rushed the injured man to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.The deceased was identified as Suman Kumar (28), a resident of Tendua village under Narari Khurd police station limits. Family members of the deceased strongly denied the allegations of theft and claimed that Suman was innocent.Sub-divisional police officer Sanjay Kumar Pandey said police acted immediately after receiving information. “In connection with the case, four persons, including two owners of the rice mill, have been taken into custody for questioning,” he said.Police said the body was sent for post-mortem examination and later handed over to family members.A Forensic Science Laboratory team collected evidence from the spot to conduct a detailed examination.