A 40-year-old thief was lynched by angry residents of a village in Thane district, the police said on Monday.
His associate sustained injuries after he was also thrashed and attacked with stones by locals in Khativali village, they said.
The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on Sunday when the two men, hailing from Panchmahal in Gujarat, were trying to run away after breaking into some houses in the village and stealing items, police inspector Raju Vanjari said.
On spotting the two men, a local raised an alarm and some other villagers also came out of their houses and chased the duo. The two thieves, in a bid to jump over wall, fell down and the villagers hurled stones and bricks on them.
The villagers then caught hold of the two men and beat them severely. They were later taken to a government hospital where one of them, Dinesh Mavi, was declared brought dead by doctors, Mr. Vanjari said.
Mavi’s associate was undergoing treatment at the hospital, he said.
A case was registered against eight villagers for murder and rioting under the Indian Penal Code. No arrest has been made so far and probe is under way.
