A migrant worker from Bihar was thrashed to death last week by a mob in Kerala’s Malappuram district on suspicion of being a thief, The Indian Express reported on Sunday.

The police have identified the victim as 36-year-old Rajesh Manjhi, a native of East Champaran district of Bihar. Nine persons have been arrested in connection with the assault, Malappuram Superintendent of Police Sujith Das said, according to ANI.

The incident took place under Kondotty police station limits in Malappuram in the early hours of Saturday, Assistant Superintendent of Police BV Vijaya Bharath Reddy told The Indian Express.

“The persons taken into custody claim that the migrant worker fell from the first floor of a house following a failed burglary attempt,” the police officer said. “After the youth fell from the house, they nabbed him and assaulted him for nearly one-and-a-half hours. We have to verify the claim of the house owner that the migrant worker fell from the building during an attempt for burglary.”

Manjhi was taken to hospital but he had died by then. A postmortem examination showed that he had multiple injuries in his body, which indicated a mob attack, the police said.

The accused persons tried to destroy footage of a nearby CCTV camera, Das told ANI. A Special Investigation Team is looking into the matter, he added.