A Muslim man was lynched by a mob in Bihar’s Saran district on Wednesday on suspicion of transporting beef in his vehicle, the police said.

Mohammad Zahiruddin, 55, worked in a bone factory and was on his way to work on Wednesday night when his vehicle broke down. A group of men came to help Zahiruddin but they forced him to let them inside the vehicle after identifying a specific smell, an unidentified police officer told the Hindustan Times.

The men found some bones and beat up Zahiruddin on suspicion of him carrying beef, the police officer said. In a statement on Thursday, the Bihar Police said that Zahiruddin had been taken to hospital but died during treatment.

Seven persons have been arrested in connection to the killing. Six people who could be identified along with 25 unidentified persons have been booked in a first information report registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Zahiruddin’s relatives, the police said.

The accused persons have been charged for murder, wrongful confinement, rioting and unlawful assembly, the police added.

Saran Superintendent of Police Gaurav Mangla said that additional forces have been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident, the Hindustan Times reported.

Also read: On a perilous path: India is being unmade, a lynching at a time