Lucknow, Aug 1 (Inditop.com)  A 42-year-old man suspected to be a thief was lynched in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said Saturday. No arrests have so far been made.

“Vijay Verma was beaten to death by people in Fardhan area Friday night. The locals said they caught him red-handed while he was trying to escape with valuable items stolen from a house in the same locality,” police inspector N. Hasan told IANS on the phone.

“We have learnt that the beating continued for nearly two hours. Police were informed much later. Before officials could reach the spot and rescue the man, he died,” added Hasan.

According to the police, an autopsy had revealed that Verma died of fatal head injuries that were inflicted by blunt objects.

Police have registered a case of murder against five unidentified people. “We are carrying out investigations and would soon make arrests,” said Hasan.

Lakhimpur Kheri is about 100-km from state capital Lucknow.