In a case of mob justice, a 35-year-old man died after being beaten up by a group of men and women who accused him of theft. Mehboob died on September 11 of injuries and excessive bleeding at a hospital, two days after he was beaten up by a mob, said police.

“We have registered a case of death by negligence under section 304 (A), wrongful confinement under section 342 and acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention under section 34 of IPC,” said a police officer.

Two women and one man have been arrested. More people could be arrested, the police said.

The incident occurred on September 9, when Mehboob was caught by a group of men and women who accused him of stealing some goods. According to police, the group then dragged Mehboob to a pole and tied him to it.

Mehboob was then beaten up with pipes and sticks the men and women present there. They also threw punches and kicks on the hapless man for couple of hours.

Mehboob was reported to have kept begging for forgiveness. He also cried that he was innocent but no one relented until he fell unconscious. Seeing the man fainting, the people ran away, sources said.

When Mehboob’s wife Sahiba got to know about the incident, she came running to the place and untied her husband. Mehboob was bleeding from multiple places and had wounds and bruises all over his body, said police.

Sahiba then took him to a nearby hospital where he died two days later, said police. Police have registered a case and three people identified as Shabrin, Shahnawaz and Bablu have been arrested.

Police are questioning them about the incident as to whether more people were involved in the beating.

Police are also searching for eyewitnesses who were present at the scene in the area. CCTV footage of the area is also being scanned to find out more clues about the identity of all the people involved in the incident.