A 25-year-old man was allegedly killed in a mob attack in Telangana’s Nizamabad district on suspicion of stealing from a temple, police officials told PTI on Tuesday. Villagers beat up G Gangadhar, who worked as a mason, and then handed him over to the police.

“Gangadhar left his residence saying he was going to work,” Nizamabad Police’s statement read, according to ANI. “However, he went to Dharmaram village, where a group of villagers caught him for allegedly committing theft in a temple and lynched him. Later, he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”

The man’s wife said that she got a phone call on Monday night and was informed that her husband had been allegedly caught attempting to commit a theft. They said he was beaten up before being taken to the hospital.

“I told the caller they could have informed the police about her husband instead of beating him up,” she told PTI. “When I reached the hospital on Monday morning, I found my husband dead.” The couple have a two-month-old baby.

Police registered a murder case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of the woman’s complaint. An investigation was also initiated to nab the accused, officials said.

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