17-year-old reportedly caught shoplifting in Hyderabad mall, dies

Hyderabad, February 18

A 17-year old tribal student died under suspicious circumstances at a shopping mall here after he was caught by security guards for allegedly ‘stealing’ chocolates, police said on Tuesday.

The parents of boy alleged that their son was beaten to death by the security guards in the incident that occurred on Sunday night while police said CCTV footage showed there was no manhandling and further investigation was on.

The boy collapsed while being frisked by security guards and rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead, police said.

According to police inspector A Venkataiah, the boy, a second year Intermediate student of a private junior college and staying in hostel, had gone to the mall along with his friends when it was about to close.

He had allegedly picked up some chocolates and kept them in his pocket.

“The boy threw the chocolates after seeing the security personnel and collapsed when the security guards were frisking him. We have verified CCTV footage which clearly shows that the boy was not manhandled by the security, but was being questioned,” he told PTI.

They suspect cardiac arrest could have been the cause of death, but only a post-mortem would reveal the exact reason, he added.

The parents of the boy demanded action against the mall authorities. — PTI