An investigation revealed Purilal Tanwar and his sons had complained about the theft (Representational)

A 40-year-old Dalit man was beaten to death for allegedly stealing a water pump in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place in Ghatoli area on Saturday morning, when a 60-year-old man, his two sons, and some other unidentified people thrashed Dhulichand Meena of Mewakheda village, alleging that he stole a water pump from their fields, a police official said.

When Dhulichand Meena was on his way to a nearby village, Purilal Tanwar, his sons, Devi Singh, 23 and Mohan, 20 and the other men confronted him, police said.

Police said a heated exchange between Dhulichand Meena and the group of men over the stolen hand pump soon turned violent and he was beaten up badly.

Dhulichand Meena's father reached the spot and took his injured son home.

Later, Dhulichand Meena's condition deteriorated and he was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, police said.

A preliminary investigation revealed Purilal Tanwar and his sons had on Friday complained about the theft to Dhulichand Meena's father, who scolded his son and asked Purilal Tanwar to lodge a police complaint against him.

A case under the relevant section of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered against Purilal Tanwar, his sons and seven unidentified men, the SHO said.

Dhulichand Meena's body was handed over to his family on Saturday after a post-mortem, the officer said.