A Muslim cloth vendor, who was assaulted by a mob that allegedly targeted him after asking his religious identity, died of his injuries in Bihar’s Nawada district on Friday night, The Indian Express reported.

Mohammad Athar Hussain, a resident of Gagan Diwan village, sold clothes on a bicycle. The assault took place on December 5 near Bhattapar village under Roh police station when Hussain was returning home and stopped to look for a puncture repair shop after his bicycle broke down, the newspaper reported.

According to his brother, Mohammad Shakib Alam, Hussain was intercepted by a group of villagers who asked his name and profession before attacking him.

“They assaulted him, cut his ears, beat him with a heated rod,” Alam told The Indian Express.

In a video recorded after the incident, Hussain said that the assailants first asked his name, pulled him off his bicycle, robbed him of Rs 18,000 and assaulted him. He said the group later grew to about 15-20 people.

He also alleged that the mob had “stripped him to check his private parts and branded his body with a heated iron rod”.

Hussain was first taken to a primary health centre in Roh and then referred to Nawada Sadar Hospital before being shifted to Pawapuri VIMS, where he succumbed to his injuries late on Friday night.

A post-mortem examination has been conducted.

Police said six people have been arrested and two minors detained in connection with the case so far.

In a complaint filed on December 6, Hussain’s wife, Shabnam Parveen, named 10 residents of Bhattapar village as accused. Ten other persons who assaulted Hussain are unidentified.

The first information report alleged that Hussain was assaulted after being falsely accused of theft and that family members who reached the village were also abused and threatened.

Based on the complaint, police initially registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to unlawful assembly, rioting and grievous hurt. Murder charges were added after Hussain died.

Meanwhile, a cross-complaint filed by one of the persons accused in the case, Sikandar Yadav, alleged that Hussain had attempted a burglary that night. Police said they are examining both complaints.

Nawada Superintendent of Police Abhinav Dhiman said that a Special Investigation Team arrested four suspects within 24 hours and four more on Saturday, The Indian Express reported.

“Eight persons have been either arrested or detained, and raids are ongoing to trace the remaining accused,” Dhiman was quoted as saying.