Youth beaten to death in Delhi over suspected apple theft

A 22-year-old man was on Thursday beaten to death by a group of security guards after suspecting him and his friend of stealing apple boxes from a fruit shop, police said.

Sanjay and his friend Raunak were returning from the Azadpur vegetable market after buying apple boxes, when they were stopped by a security guard, who asked them about the apple boxes they were carrying.

"On suspicion that the apple boxes were stolen from the market, the security guard took the youths to other security guards, where both of them were beaten up and left unconscious," a police official told IANS.

One of the guards called police, who arrived at the spot to find Sanjay dead, and his friend in a critical condition.

A case of murder has been registered and one of the guards arrested, while the others are missing and on the run, according to police.