A mob led by a priest allegedly tonsured and assaulted two Dalit men in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday after they accused the two of stealing calves near a local temple, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

The two men, both farmers, were arrested as they admitted to stealing the calves, which the police said did not belong to anyone.

The police also filed a case against 15 persons on charges of assault and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. One of them has been arrested.

The mob also smeared white paste on the heads and faces of the two men, both in their early twenties, and paraded them with placards saying they were cow thieves. After this, they took them to the police.

Officers said the priest at a temple saw the two men walking with the calves early on Monday and raised an alarm. After this, local residents gathered and beat them up, Circle Officer Avadhesh Kumar Chaudhary was quoted as saying.

Chaudhary said the calves were stray. “They did not belong to anyone, but it became a case of theft because the animals were picked up from near the temple premises,” he said. “Why the youths stole the calves needs to be investigated.”