Thief beaten to death in Palghar; six arrested

A 35-year-old notorious criminal was allegedly beaten to death by a group of locals when he entered a house in Vasai here for theft, police said today.
The incident came to light on Monday morning when cops found his injured body in Valiv locality, PI Narayan Patil of Valiv police station told PTI.
The police initially registered a case of murder and later posted the picture of the unknown thief on a messaging app following which Crime Branch personnel from Nalla Sopara unit recognised the body and conveyed that he was a notorious criminal from their area, the PI said.

The deceased was identified as Ismail Akthar Ali Khan. Further probe revealed that Khan, along with an accomplice had broke into a house in Valiv locality during the wee hours and locked themselves from inside to execute the robbery.
However, alert owner and neighbours caught hold of Khan and allegedly beat him to death while his accomplice managed to escape taking advantage of the darkness, Patil said.
Khan had atleast a dozen offences including house-breaking and robbery registered against him at the Nalla Sopara police station.
Six persons including the house owner were arrested yesterday in this connection from Gavraipada and were charged under sections for murder and rioting, police added.