A 20-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by ten persons in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra after they spotted him chatting with a girl, leading to the arrest of four individuals, police said on Wednesday.
Police suspect an old enmity led to the murder of Suleiman Khan, who was preparing for the police recruitment exam.
The four accused were produced before a local court, which remanded them in police custody even as a search for the mastermind of the crime is underway.
Khan, a resident of Betawad Khurd village, had gone to Jamner to fill the form for a police recruitment exam on Monday. He was chatting with a girl in a cafe when ten individuals confronted him and started beating him, a police official said.
The attackers forced Khan to accompany them to his village, where he was assaulted with sticks and iron rods at the bus stand, he said.
When Khan's family members tried to break up the fight, they were also beaten up. Khan was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the official said.
The incident created tension in Jamner, leading to the deployment of a posse of police personnel in sensitive areas.
Khan's relatives and locals gathered at Jamner police station on Monday night, demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits and stringent action.
A case was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for kidnapping, rioting, and murder.
"Prima facie, an old enmity between two groups is the cause behind the incident. We are investigating the case from various angles," the official said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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