Ahmedabad, July 29: A mob in Gujarat's Dahod district lynched a tribal youth on suspicion of theft. Along with the deceased, identified as 22-year-old Ajmal Vahoniya, his friend Bharu Mathur, 25, was also attacked by nearly 20 villagers on Saturday night. The latter is currently in hospital and is reported to be critical.

Dahod police has registered a case of murder against the mob. No accused, however, has been arrested. According to the officer in charge of Dahod police control room, the lynched man and his accomplice was released from jail two days ago.

Both the victims are facing serious criminal charges, including robbery and dacoity. Vahoniya, the deceased, had 32 police complaints registered against him.

Apart from the lynching victim, the accused mob also belongs to he tribal community of Dahod.

According to the villagers, Vahoniya and Mathur were part of a 20-member gang who entered their village last night in a bid to carry out mass robbery. While others of the gang managed to flee, the mob caught hold of the duo and assaulted them.

Dahod police claims it reached the spot immediately after being alerted about the incident. Both the victims were rushed to the hospital where Vahoniya was declared dead on arrival, whereas, Mathur was found to be critical.

The mob lynching incident comes in the backdrop of a Supreme Court order which has asked the central government to formulate a strict legislation which could crackdown on cases of "mobocracy".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 29, 2018 01:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).