A 25-year-old man was killed by some persons on the moving Hyderabad-Delhi Dakshin Express train when he confronted them after they allegedly stole his money on Thursday, police here said.

The incident took place in Telangana early on Thursday and the Government Railway Police (GRP) later detained four persons after the train arrived at Nagpur in Maharashtra.

The victim, identified as Shashank Ramsingh Raj, resident of Rajapur Kaimhara in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, was travelling from Secunderabad to Jhansi, they said.

Raj and his friends were sleeping near a toilet in the train's general compartment when four persons allegedly stole Rs 1,700 cash from his pocket at around 3.30 am, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official here said.

When the thieves stole the mobile phone of another passenger, the latter woke up and snatched it from them.

Raj later realised that the money he was carrying was missing and confronted the thieves, demanding that they return it, the official said.

A brawl then broke out during which the thieves kicked and punched Raj mercilessly and also assaulted other passengers, he said.

Following the fight, Raj vomitted blood and fell unconscious, the official said.

The train arrived at Nagpur station at 9.15 am following which the railway doctors examined him and pronounced him dead, he said.

While two of the accused were caught by the passengers, two others hid in the train.

The GRP at Nagpur later detained the four accused, identified as Mohd Fayyaz Mohd Hashimuddin (19), Sayyad Sameer Sayyad Jimal (18), M Shyam Koteshwar Rao (21) and Mohd Amam Mohd Akbar (19), all residents of Hyderabad, the official said.

The railway police here registered the FIR on charges of murder against the accused and later transferred the case to the GRP at Mancherial in Telangana, he said.

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