Suspected thief lynched to death on Madh Island, four held

Passers-by spotted the injured Solanki at 8 am and called the police. He was declared dead upon admission after being rushed to the hospital, the police said. (Representational Image)

A 31-year-old man was lynched on Madh Island on Monday by a group of seven to eight people on the suspicion that he was trying to steal a motorcycle. The deceased, Siddharth Solanki, a resident of Madh Island, had been roaming around an ice factory near the fishing village when he was lynched.

The police said that four men working in the ice factory spotted Solanki fiddling with one of the bikes parked there at 5 am. They overpowered Solanki and tied him to a tree. “The accused began to hit the man with their hands and a stick. They assaulted him so severely that he became unconscious. The men then fled,” said an officer at Malwani police station.

Passers-by spotted the injured Solanki at 8 am and called the police. He was declared dead upon admission after being rushed to the hospital, the police said. Using CCTV footage from the area, the police identified the four men who assaulted Solanki and arrested them on Monday. They have been booked with murder and illegal confinement.
“The deceased was not stealing anything. The accused only suspected him of doing so,” said Deepak Phatangare of Malwani police station.