Urinal
Ravinder Kumar, an e-rickshaw driver, was beaten to death for objecting to urinating in public - Representational image Sean Gallup / Staff

A man has been beaten to death for telling two other men not to urinate in public.

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has expressed his condolences and asked the authorities "to take strongest action possible against the culprits".

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According to reports, Ravinder Kumar, a 34-year old e-rickshaw driver, was at a rickshaw stand on Saturday (27 May) when he saw two men urinating in public next to a metro station in north Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar. He asked them to stop, but the men threatened him and left.

"He told them to not urinate there as many e-rickshaw drivers go there to eat. The two, however, abused him and told him that they would teach him a lesson," Kumar's brother Vijendra said.

Hours later, witnesses said the duo came with a larger group and beat him with towels filled with stones. Kumar was beaten for at least 20 minutes in the evening near the crowded metro station, but no one came to his rescue.

He died in the early hours of Sunday, NDTV reported.

Vijender said when Kumar returned home in the night, there were no visible injury marks on his body, so he did not see a doctor. But later he fell unconscious and was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

A case under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the culprits, who are believed to be students of a University of Delhi college. Also an investigation has been launched to identify them.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said that the police are also examining the CCTV footage for evidence. "We feel 12 to 13 youths were involved, but there could have been more. A search is on to nab the youths in PG hostels and other possible hideouts," he added.