Delhi man collapses on road, passersby steal phone, leave him to die. 'Heartless,' say netizens

Screenshots of the CCTV footage collected by the police. The clip is now viral. (Image credit: @SinghDeepakUP/X)

In an incident that social media users are calling "heartless," a man who collapsed on a road in Delhi’s Vikas Nagar was left unattended for hours, and a couple of passersby who noticed him stole his phone instead of calling the police or emergency services for help. The man was later declared dead, the Times of India reported.

The unidentified man reportedly fell on the roadside after suffering a medical emergency. CCTV footage from the area reportedly shows multiple people approaching him. Among them, two men stopped their scooter to take away the victim's phone without offering any help.

The man remained on the road for hours without medical attention and eventually died, raising troubling questions about apathy and public responsibility in the capital. Police are examining CCTV footage to identify those who interacted with the victim after he collapsed, the report said.

A man dies alone in Vikas Nagar(Delhi) after heartless thieves steal his phone instead of calling for help.

Is this what Delhi has become? Absolutely shameful. pic.twitter.com/eVdRhs0yHb — Deepak Singh (@SinghDeepakUP) February 3, 2026

The incident triggered widespread outrage on social media, with users on X describing the episode as a grim reflection of societal collapse. “A man dies alone in Vikas Nagar after heartless thieves steal his phone instead of calling for help,” one X user wrote. Another asked, “Is this what Delhi has become?” while calling the incident “absolutely shameful.”

Several users said the man died “in pain after he did not receive any help for hours,” with one post declaring, “What a shame, Delhi. This is not what we were,” underscoring public anger over the lack of basic human compassion.

Meanwhile, the police said that further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and determine criminal liability, if any, in the man’s death.

Read more: Man claims thief returned his stolen phone after seeing Premanand Ji Maharaj's photo