Delhi Police have arrested two truck drivers after an 18-year-old youth allegedly beaten in northwest Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy area died during treatment, with investigators now searching for the other people involved in the assault.
The deceased, identified as Ram Kumar of Kalandar Colony, was allegedly caught with four others by truck drivers around 7 pm on August 29 on suspicion of stealing cables or other articles from trucks, police said. A video of the incident circulated on social media and purportedly showed a man tied up and beaten while being abused.
Police identified the arrested accused as Muntiyaz and Naeem. An FIR was registered after Kumar’s death, and officers said efforts were under way to trace the remaining accused. The police account does not state the sections invoked in the FIR.
According to the police statement, Kumar was taken by his family to Burari Hospital on August 30. He was treated and discharged after doctors found no vital or grievous injury, police said. His brother had also made a PCR call that day, but the family did not seek legal action at the time.
Kumar later returned to hospital on September 9 after complaining of breathlessness. He was referred first to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital and subsequently to Rajan Babu TB Hospital, where he died during the night of September 9 and 10, police said.
The sequence has placed the focus on two separate points in the case: the alleged assault captured in the video and the delay between the initial hospital visit and the later deterioration in Kumar’s condition. The available police account does not establish the medical cause of death or state whether a post-mortem examination has been completed.
The case also highlights the risks created when suspected theft around commercial vehicles is dealt with by private individuals rather than through the police and formal complaint process. Bhalswa Dairy is a mixed urban area where residential colonies, truck movement and informal activity exist in close proximity, but the supplied police statement does not provide details about the exact location of the alleged assault or the vehicles involved.
Police said the investigation is continuing and that the remaining accused are being traced. Further findings, including the medical determination of the cause of death and the role of each person allegedly involved, are expected to clarify the case.
