The bodies of the thieves in the mortuary of Hajipur hospital. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Rajapakar (Vaishali), Sept. 13: A mob of over 300 people battered ten thieves to death early today as “instant justice” claimed more lives in Bihar.

The incident occurred at Dhelphodwa Chowk under Rajapakar police station in Vaishali, about 40km from Patna.

One man was seriously injured. All the victims belonged to a nomadic community.

Earlier this week, a mob gouged out the eyes of three bike thieves in Nawada.

Before that, two policemen tied an alleged chain-snatcher to their bike and dragged him a few hundred metres in Bhagalpur.

Witnesses said today’s incident took place around 4.30am, when the 11 were fleeing after stealing valuables from the house of Mithilesh Rai in Rajapakar, which has a dominant Yadav population.

When villagers on night patrol saw them, they raised an alarm screaming “chor, chor”. Soon, a 300-strong mob, armed with wooden sticks, iron rods and even tools used for farming, was chasing the thieves.

The mob caught up with them about 3km from Rai’s house.

Disgusted with police for inaction despite a dozen theft cases over the past three months, the crowd decided on instant justice.

“People thrashed the thieves with lathis, bricks and any object they found good enough to batter them,” said Bhagwat Rai, a witness. A villager had informed the police, but by the time they arrived, 10 of the 11 thieves had been lynched, he added.

The valuables found on the lynched men

The police rescued Ranjit Kureri from the mob and took him to Sadar hospital in Hajipur. He was later referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital with severe head injuries.

Ranjit, in his declaration to the Hajipur sub-divisional officer, said: “We broke into a house around 1am and stole two gold chains, a pair of earrings, nose rings, silver anklets and some cash.”

He also identified his accomplices as Sanjay, Bara, Anjay, Gulten, Sulten, Srinath, Jugnu, Ashok, Nandkishore and Mukesh.

One of the victims was a boy of 16, eight were between 20 and 30 and another 40.

Ranjit said he and his accomplices were residents of Tajpur in Samastipur, 35km from Rajapakar, and had recently camped at Sarai in Muzaffarpur.

Inspector-general Krishna Choudhary admitted that the police should have reached the spot earlier.

A case of lynching has been registered against 300 people, but the IG said it would be tough to nail the culprits.