Howrah, Aug. 23: A worker in a plastic factory in Howrah was tied to a pole and allegedly beaten to death by his manager and colleagues last night on the suspicion that he had stolen their cellphones, police said.

Bhabatosh Haldar, 26, was declared dead on arrival at the Howrah General Hospital around midnight.

Haldar, a resident of Sundarbans, has been working in Floatex Products as a casual labourer for over two years.

Police said five mobile phones had gone missing from the factory and the suspicion fell on Haldar, who lives on the premises.

Witnesses said factory manager Sitaram Chowbey and some workers started grilling Haldar yesterday morning.

“They called Haldar a thief and tied him to a pole. Then they started beating him. He was kept tied for three hours,” Manoranjan Maity, a contract labourer, said. “Most of the labourers just stood and watched. I tried to stop them but could not. I felt very helpless.”

Haldar was then locked inside a room, Maity said.

According to security guard Sanatan Sinha, Haldar was beaten up again later.

“Even after beating him in public for several hours, Chowbey and his colleagues did not relent. In the evening, they entered the room and locked themselves in with Haldar. I saw them hailing a cab later and leaving with Haldar who looked senseless. I could not figure out he was dead. Otherwise, I would have raised an alarm right then,” he said.

The police said Haldar was brought to hospital by Chowbey and four workers in a taxi at 11.30pm.

The five have been detained for interrogation. A case has been started on the basis of a complaint lodged by the hospital authorities.

The accused claimed that Haldar had committed suicide on the factory premises. “But we are not ready to buy that argument. Prima facie it appears that Haldar was battered to death. We are awaiting the post-mortem report,” district superintendent of police Niraj Kumar Singh said.

A hospital source confirmed that Haldar’s body bore bruises. “Those who had brought him in are obviously lying,” he said.