New Delhi: In an alleged case of theft going wrong, a group of five to six teenagers in school uniforms stabbed a man to death inside a moving bus on Mathura Road in south Delhi after he tried to frisk them on suspicion of stealing his mobile phone, following which all of them were apprehended. The incident took place on Thursday afternoon

Deputy commissioner of police (Southeast) Romil Baaniya said the murdered passenger, who is believed to be in his mid 20s, remains unidentified as a search of his pockets did not yield any documents. The conductor of the bus, which had about 40 passengers, said the boys and the victim boarded the bus from a bus stop in Ashram and soon the man began checking their pockets. According to the conductor, the man alleged that they had stolen his mobile phone.

“There was a scuffle in which one boy stabbed the man in his neck with a knife while the other boys restrained him,” he said.

The conductor added that the boys were wearing white shirt and navy blue trouser, suggesting they were students of a government school. As the victim collapsed inside the bus, the boys managed to jump out of the vehicle unchallenged after the murder. “The bus was moving slowly because of the traffic, so they managed to jump out and escape,” said the driver of the bus, Jai Bhagwan.

DCP Baaniya said the boys were aged between 13 and 16. He said the investigators are also probing the possibility that the accused could be the members of a gang that recruits boys in uniform to pick the pocket of the passengers. Police said the description of the boys’ uniform has provided crucial leads for the probe but there was no breakthrough in the case until Friday afternoon.