The police said around 1.30 am on Monday, the Police Control Room received a call that residents of a locality in Khajuri Khas had caught hold of a “burglar.”

“We reached the spot and found out that the man had been badly thrashed. He was bleeding profusely and was unconscious. We rushed him to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival,” a senior police officer said. “We immediately registered a case of murder against unknown people and began investigations.”

On questioning, some residents of the Shivaji Mohalla in Sonia Vihar told police that the deceased, yet to be identified, was loitering in the area late in the night. They got suspicious and questioned him about his presence, but the man, who was reportedly in an inebriated state, could not give a satisfactory answer.

“Over 30 men thrashed the man to death,” a senior police officer said. “Though the locals told us that the deceased had confessed to his plans for burglary, the act is shocking as the man was lynched on mere suspicion.”

Meanwhile, relatives of one of the robbers lynched in Loni held a demonstration in Seelampur, demanding justice. They blocked traffic and pelted stones at police officers.

The police said relatives of Shamshad, alias Laddan, took his body from Ghaziabad and put it on road number 66 in Seelampur at 10.30 am on Wednesday. They blocked the road, holding up traffic for at least four hours till senior police officers pacified them and promised action.

The police said Shamshad was a bad character in the area and had several cases registered against him. He was lynched after he entered the residence of the principal of Radhelal Inter College, Ramesh Bhardwaj, in Ghaziabad with five other men.