A 36-year-old man was lynched late on Tuesday in Tripura’s Dhalai district on suspicion of cattle theft, police officials told the Hindustan Times on Wednesday. The man was taken to a local hospital but he eventually succumbed to his injuries early in the morning.

The man, identified as Budhi Kumar Tripura, was lynched in Noarampara of Raishyabari block, 147 km from state capital Agartala. “The incident occurred at nearly 11.30 pm last [Tuesday] night,” Suleman Reang, the officer-in-charge of Raishyabari police station, was quoted as saying. “He died in the hospital early this morning [Wednesday]. Post-mortem will be done. After that, we will take a case.”

Local people told the police that Tripura had entered a cowshed in the home of a villager. Members of the house reportedly raised an alarm when he was about to escape. Villagers caught Tripura, and started assaulting him. The police reached the area around 12 am, rescued the 36-year-old and took him to the hospital.