Guwahati, Aug 17: In a fresh incident of lynching in Assam, a violent mob beat a man to death on Wednesday when the country was celebrating its 72nd Independence Day. Three others were also injured in the attack. The incident took place in Assam's Biswanath district when the mob turned violent suspecting the victims as cow thieves.

According to Biswanath Superintendent of Police Diganta Kumar Choudhury, the four men had allegedly stolen two cows from a person named Sankat Tanti and were fleeing in an auto van. As Tanti raised an alarm, a crowd gathered and stopped the vehicle. The mob then started thrashed them. Village defence party personnel called the police, which rescued the four from the clutches of the attackers.

The victims were taken to a private hospital in Biswanath Chariali where one of them succumbed to injuries. “We were on our way to buy pigs from Diplunga tea estate early on Wednesday morning when a mob armed with sticks, iron rods etc. stopped us and started attacking, accusing us of being cow thieves,” one of the injured victims told local television channels.

A case of cow theft has been registered. The Congress party attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident. "When will be the law and order maintained?" asked Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2018 12:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).