Guwahati, April 18 -- In a suspected case of criminal rivalry, the three men from Assam were found murdered in the East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, police said.

The bodies of Jomor Ali, Noor Mohammad and Zahidul Islam were found burnt inside a pit in the jungle near Rongjeng police station.

According to police, their initial investigation found a rivalry angle between car lifters and cattle thieves.

Islam was involved in car lifting cases while Ali was involved in cattle theft cases.

The three men had left home for Meghalaya on April 15 for some work and their relatives were informed the next day that they were in a jungle area.

Their mobile phones were switched off thereafter.

A police team found their vehicle burnt inside th...