A person from the minority community was lynched by a mob on the suspicion of stealing cattle in Samastipur district of Bihar on Monday morning, reviving the spectre of vigilante justice in the state where the law-and-order situation is increasingly deteriorating.

Videos of the incident, which took place at Chakhabib village under Vibhutipur police station, have surfaced on social media platforms, but the victim has not been identified so far.

According to the villagers, three persons were trying to steal a bullock from the house of farmer Sukhlal Sahni. However, he and his neighbours got a wind of it and raised an alarm.

Several villagers rushed to nab the trio. Two of them managed to run away but one was caught. The villagers kicked and punched him and hit him with bricks and sticks until he died. His body was left on a street in the village.

“The incident occurred between 2am and 3am on Monday. We got information about it at around 5am and rushed to the place. We have recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem,” Vibhutipur station house officer Chandrakant Gauri told The Telegraph.

Gauri added that the police were trying to ascertain the identity of the deceased. A mobile phone and a motorcycle have been recovered from the area where he was lynched.

“We have registered an FIR in which three persons have been named. Around 50 to 60 people have been made unidentified accused. We are trying to arrest the named persons,” the SHO said.

Sources in the police said the deceased had been identified as Muhammad Mustakim, 35, resident of Aigh village under Muffasil police station in neighbouring Begusarai district. His family members have been informed about the incident.