Hyderabad: In separate incidents of lynching, two men were beaten to death by group of villagers in Telangana on suspicion of being thieves, police said today.

A 42-year-old man was yesterday afternoon thrashed by villagers at Chengal village in Nizamabad district on suspicion of being a thief after they nabbed him from a mango farm, police said. The victim was admitted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, they said, adding that the deceased was a local person from a neighbouring village.

In another incident, a group of youngsters attacked a 32-year-old man in Jiapally village on the city outskirts last night after he was found roaming in the village. "The man, who was allegedly drunk did not properly reply to the youths when they caught him. They beat him up on suspicion that he may be a burglar resulting in his death," the police said.

However, later it was found that he was a native of a neighbouring village, a senior police official said. Police have identified those involved in the incidents and separate cases of murder and wrongful confinement have been filed under the relevant sections of the IPC. He added that some suspects have been picked up by the police.

Terming the killings as unfortunate, the Telangana DGP asked the public not to believe on "false news" being circulated on social media about kidnappers and burglars. "False news is being spread on the social media that certain gangs are on the prowl in Telangana. There is absolutely no movement of criminal gangs whether child abductors, robbery/burglary gangs.

"Police want to clarify that no such gangs (outsiders) have infiltrated and are moving in Telangana," DGP M Mahender Reddy said. He said that action would be taken against those circulating such false messages on social media, adding that the police are in the process of identifying them. Appealing to people not to take law into their own hands, Reddy said stern action would be taken against those who killed the two men. (PTI)