THANE: Two men were allegedly beaten to death by some local residents in Ambernath town in Thane district on suspicion of stealing a water motor, a police official said on Saturday.
Two persons have been detained during the investigation, said senior police inspector Ashok Bhagat.
Passersby alerted police on Friday morning about the bodies of Suraj Parmar (25) and Suraj Kori (22) lying in Durgadevi Pada, he said.
"CCTV footage of the spot showed the duo running away after stealing a water motor and dogs barking at them. The commotion woke up some people who chased the duo and thrashed them, resulting in their death," the police inspector said.
The postmortem report revealed that the duo died due to bleeding caused by internal injuries, he said, adding that it is a suspected case of mob lynching.
He said one of the slain men was a notorious criminal against whom cases of thefts had been registered earlier.
"A police team has detained two persons and interrogated them. We will trace others and take them into custody," he added.