The 55-year-old headmaster of a government school in Imphal East district was lynched on Tuesday after rumours that he had stolen cattle surfaced. A report in North East Today said people found Mohammad Hasmat Ali dragging a calf away from a neighbour’s cowshed early on Monday morning and started thrashing him until he died.

Residents of Keirao Makting village stormed the local police station in Irilbung later in the day, demanding that the culprits be arrested. The police registered a case. Reports also said one of the culprits’ homes was set on fire after Ali's death.