Cellphone videos from the spot captured part of the torture.
A man suspected of stealing a cellphone from a house in Assam's Sivasagar district, has been beaten to death by the locals. Palu Gowala, 27, was taken to the hospital by the police where he succumbed to his injuries.
Police sources said Palu Gowala and another man, Dadu Orang, were accused of breaking into the home of a local in the quiet neighborhood of Sivasagar's Phukan Nagar and stealing a mobile phone. They were caught and soon a mob in took matters into their own hands. Both men sustained extensive injuries in the beating that followed.
Cellphone videos from the spot captured part of the torture. One of the men is seen writhing on the ground while two men, one of them armed with a stick, are heard threatening him. The man's answer fails to placate them.
As a few of the women egg them on, the man with the stick beats him mercilessly. Several other men armed with sticks are seen standing around. There are many bystanders but no one volunteers to help the victims. In the intermittent silence, only the whack of the stick can be heard.
A police team that arrived at the location later, rescued both men and took them to a local hospital. A case has been registered and investigations are on.