Thief lynched while trying to steal food from shop in Mumbai

The shop where the thief was lynched

A 32-year-old man from Kandivli, who was allegedly trying to steal food grain from a ration shop in the area, was lynched by a group of people in the wee hours of Friday. The man was beaten up so badly that he was declared dead before he could be admitted to hospital.

Senior Inspector Mukund Pawar of Kandivli Police Station confirmed the incident and said a case had been registered against unknown people. Locals identified the man as Maksood Khan (32), a tempo driver by profession and resident of the 90-feet Road area in Kandivli West.

"Around 4 am, Khan was seen trying to open the shutters of the ration shop. To ensure that the shutter did not make a noise while being closed, Khan and his accomplices who were standing outside, placed a tile upright between the shutter and the ground. As Khan was coming out of the shop through the gap, one of the tiles collapsed and he got trapped between the shutter and ground."

Hearing this, the shop workers who were sleeping inside woke up. Along with some passers-by who were witness to this, they beat up the thief. "As there were two earlier occasions when the shop was robbed, the workers had started sleeping inside the shop," said a police officer.

Locals said Khan and his gang were habitual thieves and there were many complaints registered against him.