Taken to be thieves, two Dalit brothers lynched in Bihar

In yet another case of a mob taking the law into its own hands, two brothers were lynched at a village in south western Bihar early on Thursday on suspicion of being thieves.

The incident took place at around 1am on Thursday at Parasia village, about 170 kilometres south-west of state capital Patna.

Police said the deceased, who were Mahadalits, were identified as 40-year-old Baban Musahar and 35-year-old Murahu Musahar.

They were accused of entering a house after burrowing through a wall for robbery.

Kochas station house officer Satish Kumar said preliminary investigation suggested the two men were caught when some villagers raised an alarm on finding strangers trying to enter a house at such an early hour.

The two tried to run but were caught by locals and assaulted.

They were taken to the local primary health centre at Kochas where Baban died during treatment.

Murahu, who was in a serious condition, was referred to Sadar Hospital in Sasaram but was declared brought dead.