Three people were beaten to death by a mob in Saran district of Bihar on Friday, alleging that they attempted to steal a buffalo, the police said. The families of the victims denied the allegation.
Raju Nat, Bides Nat and Naushad Qureshi were attacked at Nandlal Tola of Pithauri village in the Baniapur police station limits in the early hours. Two of them were killed on the spot. Another died of injuries on the way to hospital, Superintendent of Police Har Kishore Rai said. He said two or three people have been picked up for interrogation.
Deputy SP Ajay Kumar Singh rushed to the village as a clash erupted between the alleged attackers and the family members of the deceased. The relatives said the victims had gone out to relieve themselves when they were beaten to death.
“We can say it with certainty that this is not one of those incidents of mob lynching. The animal allegedly being stolen was a buffalo. The attackers and the attacked belonged to the same social groups,” Mr. Singh said.
Police have been deployed in the village, while people from both sides were at the police station to lodge complaints. The families of the victims “created a ruckus” at the Sadar hospital, where the bodies were taken for post-mortem, prompting police to use “mild force” to bring the situation under control, officials said.
