Varanasi: A 17-year-old boy of Ghamahapur village under Rohania police station was beaten to death near Panditpur by a history-sheeter and his aides who alleged he had stolen a mobile phone, on Saturday night.ACP (Rohania) Sanjiv Sharma said in a dispute related to theft of a mobile phone, Ramesh Patel and his associates beat to death the boy, identified as Shanu Ali. A murder case was lodged against Patel and his six accomplices. Police teams were engaged for their early arrest, said the ACP, adding that Patel was sent to jail in 2015 in a case of cattle smuggling. The boy’s uncle Akhtar Ali said that around 9 pm on Saturday, Patel and his accomplices raided his house. They accused the boy of stealing his mobile phone. They took him away on pretext of settling the matter at the police outpost, but instead, took him near a culvert in front of a petrol pump outside Panditpur village and started beating him. Before Akhtar and other family members could reach, the assailants fled the scene leaving the boy unconscious. He was rushed to a local hospital where doctor declared him dead.Akhtar said his nephew worked as a mason to support his mother and two siblings after the death of his father and was being targeted by Patel for a long time. Patel suspected he was arrested by police in a cattle smuggling case on information given by the boy.ACP Sharma said since Patel had a criminal record and had gone to jail on charges of cattle smuggling, all aspects related to the deceased and accused would be covered under investigation.
