A young man, wrongly accused of stealing a phone and some cash, died on Monday, five days after he was brutally attacked by a mob on December 11 in Thiruvallam of Thiruvananthapuram district. He succumbed to his injuries in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.

Ajesh, from Muttakkad, was attacked by a group of people, who alleged that he stole a mobile phone and Rs 40,000 cash from someone near a bus stand. He was beaten with sticks, while his private parts were burnt by the mob.

According to the police, a person from Malappuram lost his money and phone near Thiruvallam bus stand. He informed a few auto drivers at the spot. The drivers suspected Ajesh, claiming that he was a thief in the area. They then followed him and attacked him. He was also attacked by passersby, who dragged him to his house where they continued to beat him up.

According to reports, the attackers took Ajesh to his house claiming that he may have hidden the phone there. At his house, he was thrashed and his attackers burnt his private parts using a hot iron knife. He was later abandoned and some locals informed the police, who shifted him to the hospital.

Ajesh had denied stealing the phone and the cash. Police confirmed that neither the phone nor the cash was recovered from Ajesh.

Since the attack, six auto drivers have been arrested by Thiruvallam police and five have been remanded.

"Doctors in their primary findings have said that Ajesh got pneumonia due to severe injuries and infection. He was severely wounded and was burnt in sensitive parts of the body. There is no evidence that Ajesh stole the things," Sajikumar Thiruvallam Station House Officer told TNM.

He added that Ajesh was in sinking state  when they found him abandoned in a field nearby Thiruvallam.