Noida (UP), May 31 (PTI) Two young men were stripped off their shirts, tied to a pole and beaten up by a crowd on suspicion that they were stealing batteries from auto-rickshaws here, police said Friday.

The incident, which took place in Sector 26 on Thursday, came to light after a video was circulated on social media, prompting the police to lodge a case against unidentified people for wrongful confinement and voluntarily causing hurt to the duo.

“The battery of an auto-rickshaw was stolen from a parking lot in Mangal Bazaar, Sector 25 yesterday. Today, the two unidentified men, apparently intoxicated, were found sitting in an auto holding a wrench in the same area,” a police spokesperson said.

“Soon they were held by local auto-rickshaw drivers on suspicion of being battery thieves. They were tied to a street-side pole with a rope and beaten up by the crowd. A video of the incident is circulating on social media also,” the spokesperson said.

The official said that the identity of the victims has not been ascertained yet, while an FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 342 (wrongful confinement) at the Sector 20 police station.

“The matter is being probed and those guilty will be arrested,” the official said. http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg “We bring the World to you" Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you. http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg “We bring the World to you" Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)