The lifeless body of a man believed to have been beaten to death for stealing a mobile phone was on Thursday pulled out of the dirty Odaw River at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. The corpse, which had turned pale, sunk into the belly of the foul-scented Odaw River before a four-man rescue team fished it out with the support of some officials from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The rescue team tied a rope around the left wrist and left foot of the corpse before pulling it out of the river as hundreds of on-lookers gazed with horrific shock. The man was reported to have jumped into the river on Wednesday when he could no longer endure the agony of a free-for-all punishment on his hapless body after he had been suspected of stealing a mobile phone. When the body was finally brought ashore, DAILY GUIDE counted close to 10 persons who alleged that they had fallen victim to the robbery acts of the deceased at one time or the other. While some alleged he had openly confronted them with a knife and demanded their phones, others said they had seen him being beaten by a mob on suspicion that he had stolen a phone. Traders, whose stalls were near the spot where the deceased allegedly snatched the mobile phone of a certain 'White Man' on Wednesday, said the deceased managed to escape despite the hot chase from onlookers. They said later in the evening, the deceased was spotted in the area and when he was confronted he denied ever snatching the said phone. DAILY GUIDE gathered that an argument subsequently ensued and it generated into a fight between the deceased and the persons who confronted him. Other onlookers, on hearing that the commotion was because someone was suspected to have stolen a phone, joined in beating the suspect. In order to escape the wrath of his assailants the deceased jumped into the Odaw river but smashed his head on a concrete pillar and his body was dragged out of the stinking river the next day in the presence of a large number of curious onlookers. The body has since been deposited at the Police Hospital in Accra. Source: Daily Guide