Lonavala: In a gory incident, six persons were stoned to death and four others injured by an unidentified assailant, suspected to be a psychopath, when they were asleep on the pavement of a vegetable market at Lonavala.

According to police, the victims, all middle aged men, were found dead last night with their heads smashed by using either stone or a sharp weapon. Of the injured, two were admitted to a government hospital here where their condition was stated to be critical.

Police said they suspected the murderer to be an "insane" person as the victims were manual labourers doing odd jobs to earn a living in the popular hill station. The deceased, who were yet to be identified, were drunk and asleep when the killer struck, police said, adding further investigation was on.