iPhone delivery courier murdered by buyer in India

The phone was ordered through Indian online e-commerce website Flipkart, which has previously collaborated with Apple on sales promotions. In this case, it is not clear which reseller sold the iPhone through Flipkart, but whatever it was, they offered a cash on delivery (COD) option.

Accordingly The IndependentThe defendant – identified only as Gajanan – and an accomplice named Akash ordered an iPhone worth about $1,800. The delivery driver, Bharat Sahu, then took the iPhone to Gajanan's residence in Chinhat, Lucknow, northern India.

“On September 23, messenger Bharat Sahu from Nishatganj went to deliver the phone at home where he was killed by Gajanan and his accomplice,” senior police official Shashank Singh told reporters. “After strangling Sahu, they put his body in a sack and dumped it in the Indira canal.”

The family of 30-year-old Sahu reported him missing after two days. His body has not yet been found.

Police found Gajanan's phone number while checking Sahu's call records. This also led them to Akash, who reportedly confessed during interrogation.

Akash is said to have confessed to the murder, but did not give a reason. Therefore, it is not clear whether the two men intended to sell the iPhone or whether both somehow had it for personal use.

It's also unknown what type of iPhone it is, but based on the listed price, it's believed to be an iPhone 16 Pro Max. The price of this model is said to be three times the average monthly salary of a resident in India.

In Gajanan's hometown of Lucknow, an Apple sales manager was shot dead by police in 2018.