A 55-year-old alcoholic man was beaten to death by a group of people who mistook him as a trouble maker after he knocked on the door of a house to beg in Swagath Layout in Karekallahalli, Gauribidanur, in the wee hours of Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Manjunath, a resident of RT Nagar, who was a plumber. According to the police, his wife and children had left him seven months ago due to his chronic alcoholism. Since then, Manjunath was living on the footpaths and begging.
Early on Saturday, he ventured into Swagath Layout and knocked on the door of the accused to beg. Mistaking him as a thief, the house owner Ambarish alerted his neighbours Sunil and Kailash, who rushed out and thrashed Manjunath.
Hearing the commotion, the other neighbours woke up and alerted the police . The night beat police rushed to the spot and detained Manjunath and took him to the hospital where the doctor declared him ‘brought dead’.
Inquiries revealed that Manjunath had not had food for many days and was anemic. “He knocked on the door to beg for food or money, but was mistaken by the people as thief, which led to his murder,” a senior police officer said .
“The accused have taken the law into their hands and thrashed Manjunath with a wooden roller and plastic pipes severely, resulting in his death. The trio have been arrested on murder charges for further investigation,” the officer added.
