Maharashtra: 23-year-old man lynched on suspicion of being thief in Palghar

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A 23-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death on suspicion of being a thief in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Wednesday morning, the police said, reported the PTI.

A group of around 10 persons caught hold of Vijay alias Abishek Joginder Soni around 6.30 am in Velai Pada area of Nalasopara, said an official of Pelhar police station, as per the PTI.

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Suspecting that he was loitering there with the intention of committing a theft, they beat him mercilessly with sticks, leaving him fatally injured on the spot, the official said.

Passers-by alerted police about the body afterwards.

No arrest has been made yet and probe was underway, the official said, news agency reported on Wednesday.

Accused held after 11 years from UP in 2013 Palghar murder case

The Central Crime Unit (CCU) of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police has nabbed accused in 2013 Palghar murder case after 11 years from UP, a senior official said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.

The suspect had been on the run for more than 11 years and the teams of police officials nabbed him after an extensive ten-day recce in a field at Sahaswan in Uttar Pradesh, the official said, as per the PTI.

According to the news agency, the victim, 44-year-old contractor Maheshkumar Ramchand, was attacked with a spade and pickaxe by unidentified persons in Nalasopara area of Palghar district in Maharashtra on the intervening night of January 1 and 2, 2013.

The attackers strangled him and attempted to burn his body to destroy evidence. Police registered an FIR under sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code against unknown persons, a senior police inspector said, as per the PTI.

Following the initial investigation, police arrested Ameer Abbas Moiddin Sheikh and Mohammad Nayeem Bannemia Ansari, and submitted a charge sheet in court.

However, a third suspect, Hira alias Khurshid Alam Mohammad Hanif Ansari, evaded arrest and remained at large.

A police team was formed to trace Hira. They received a tip-off that the accused's brother was manufacturing women's purses in Delhi. The team travelled to Delhi, where they learned that Hira did not use a mobile phone and had minimal contact with anyone.

After two months of efforts, the team received additional intelligence that Hira was living alone in a field far from Sahaswan village of Uttar Pradesh from where he was held.

(with PTI reports)