Mumbai, Jan 6 (IANS): In a shocking incident, four minor boys, all aged 17, have been detained for allegedly clobbering an 18-year-old boy to death at the Mankhurd suburb of Mumbai, officials said here on Friday.

The chilling murder took place sometime on Thursday and the body of the victim, who has been identified as Tayyab Khan, was recovered from an abandoned public toilet in a desolate area.

Swinging into action, the police teams managed to trace the alleged under-age culprits and have detained them for the crime, senior police inspector Mahadev P. Koli told IANS.

He said that the four accused minors are residents of Maharashtra Nagar in Mankhurd. The victim was also from the same neighbourhood.

As per initial probe, the police have found that the five boys were regularly involved in local streetside brawls and fights, which were not very serious.

"This could have been just another such quarrel, but this time the minor boys were carrying weapons. We have detained the four boys, and further probe is underway," said Koli.

The autopsy report of Khan revealed that he was brutally assaulted by the accused minors, who pounded him at least 14 times with machetes and sticks.

They left him in an unused public toilet before decamping from the spot.

The victim sustained severe injuries in the head, neck and arms, as per the post-mortem. The exact motive behind the murder is being ascertained.