Maha: Thief lynched by villagers; associate injured

A 40-year-old thief was lynched by angry residents of a village in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.

His associate sustained injuries after he was also thrashed and attacked with stones by locals in Khativali village here, they said.

The incident took place around 3 am on Sunday when the two men, both 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 following which some other villagers also came out of their houses and chased the duo.

The two thieves, in a bid to scale a wall and jump over, fell down following which the villagers hurled stones and bricks on them.

The villagers then caught hold of the two men and beat them severely, the official said.

The two men were later taken to a government hospital where one of them, identified as Dinesh Mavi, was declared brought dead by doctors, Vanjari said.

Mavi's associate, who was injured in the attack, was undergoing treatment at the hospital, he said.

A case was registered against eight villagers under Indian Penal Code sections for murder and rioting, he said.

No arrest was made so far, the official said, adding that a probe was underway in the case.