Guj: Man beaten to death over suspicion of being thief

An unidentified man was lynched by a mob in Banaskantha district of Gujarat on the suspicion that he was a thief, police said Sunday.

The incident took place at Harigadh village in Danta teshil on Saturday night, following which six persons were arrested Sunday, said sub-inspector B K Goswami.

An unidentified man, aged around 50, allegedly entered the house of Amrat Prajapati Saturday night, he said.

Members of the Prajapati family claimed that they woke up sensing that there was an intruder and caught the man, the police officer said.

"The family members and some other people in the village tied him to a banyan tree and beat him with sticks. Around midnight, when the man fell unconscious, someone informed us and a police team was rushed there," said Goswami.

"The man was already dead when we reached the spot. We have registered a case of murder and arrested six persons today," he said.

Around 50 persons from the village were involved in the alleged lynching and police were trying to identify other people in the mob, he said.

Amrat Prajapati, Shiva Prajapati, Dashrath Prajapati, Jayanti Prajapati, Babu Prajapati and Devji Thakor have been arrested, the officer said.