Nalanda: A video purportedly showing the brutal assault of two young men who later died in an alleged mob lynching in Bihar’s Nalanda district has surfaced online, intensifying demands for accountability and swift police action.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday in the Deepnagar police station area, where 24-year-old Pintu Paswan and 22-year-old Shravan Paswan lost their lives after being allegedly beaten by a mob on suspicion of attempted theft.
The one-minute video, which emerged three days after the incident, appears to show around 20 to 25 people assaulting the two men with sticks while their hands are tied. The victims, seen lying injured on the ground, can allegedly be heard pleading with the crowd to spare them.
The video also appears to show a man dressed in a white dhoti, identified by local residents as a temple priest, repeatedly striking the two men with a stick. Several bystanders can reportedly be heard urging the assailants to stop.
The authenticity of the video has not yet been independently verified.
Rajgir Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sanjeet Kumar Gupta said police are examining the footage.
“We are verifying the authenticity of the video. Once verified, those seen in the footage will be identified, arrested, and legal action will be taken against them,” Gupta said.
Family members of the deceased have claimed that the men shown in the video are indeed Pintu and Shravan.
According to police, the incident took place near the Jhunkiya Baba Temple during the ongoing Malmas Mela in Rajgir. The victims had reportedly visited the fair with four friends on Sunday evening.
Temple authorities alleged that the two men were caught by devotees around 3 a.m. on suspicion of attempting to steal from the temple premises by scaling a wall while a community feast was underway.
The temple administration said the premises had witnessed several thefts in recent weeks, including the alleged theft of cash and valuables worth around Rs 1.5 lakh earlier this month.
According to initial accounts, devotees raised an alarm after noticing suspicious activity, prompting the two youths to flee. They were later caught by a crowd outside the temple premises.
Family members, however, have rejected the theft allegations and claimed the killings were premeditated.
Pintu’s mother, Saroj Devi, said her son worked as a mason and was the sole breadwinner of the family.
“My son supported our entire family. This was not a case of theft; he was killed as part of a conspiracy,” she alleged.
The victims’ relatives have also accused four local youths of involvement in the incident.
Nalanda Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni said police received information about the assault at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday and immediately dispatched a patrol team.
“Our team reached the spot without delay and rescued both injured men from the crowd. They were taken to a local hospital and later referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital for advanced treatment,” Soni said.
Despite being escorted to the hospital by police personnel, both men succumbed to their injuries during treatment.
Preliminary post-mortem findings indicate that Shravan suffered a fractured arm and that both victims sustained multiple internal injuries. Officials said internal bleeding is suspected to be the cause of death, although the exact cause will be confirmed after the final post-mortem report is released.
Meanwhile, Nalanda resident and Delhi-based advocate Brajesh Singh has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking an independent investigation into the case.
No arrests have been made so far.
The incident has sparked outrage and renewed concerns over rising incidents of mob violence in the state. Authorities have appealed to the public not to take the law into their own hands and to report suspected criminal activity to the police.
