A man accused of stealing a mobile phone was allegedly whipped with a belt on the main road near NRS Medical College and Hospital as a large crowd that gathered around him and his attackers played silent spectator on Tuesday evening.

A video emerged showing a man trying to save his face and body from being lashed by another man with what looks like a belt.

Police said the “victim” and the man with the belt were taken to Entally police station. Sources said a case was yet to be drawn up till late on Tuesday.

The incident happened less than a week after a man, Irshad Alam, 37 , also suspected to be a mobile phone thief, was allegedly lynched by students and former students inside Udayan Hostel in Bowbazar.

The police on Tuesday found purported video footage from the mobile phone of one of the 14 accused students, in which they had recorded how Alam was thrashed causing his death.

Sources said CCTV footage from a shop opposite the hostel had also been retrieved on Tuesday. “This footage shows how two former students who stayed at the hostel as a cook and a security guard had dragged Alam inside the hostel. This was erased by the students but we retrieved it from the hard disk,” said an officer.