Man lynched on suspicion oftemple theft in Telangana

: A 25-year-old man was allegedly lynched by a group of villagers on suspicion of committing a theft at a temple in Nizamabad district, police said on Tuesday.

The man, who works as a mason, was on Monday thrashed by the group after he was caught allegedly trying to steal from the place of worship, a senior police official told PTI.

The villagers later informed the police who got the man shifted to the government hospital in Nizamabad but he died without responding to treatment, the official said.

The victim's wife told TV channels she received a phone call on Monday night saying her husband was caught allegedly trying to commit a theft and beaten up before being shifted to a hospital.

The caller then asked her to visit the hospital.

"I told the caller they could haveinformed the police about her husband instead of beating him up. When I reached the hospital on Monday morning, I found my husband dead," the wailing woman, holding her two-month-old baby in her arms, said.

Based on a complaint from her, a case of murder has been registered and an investigation to identify the accused was on, the official added.