In yet another case of `street justice' in Bihar, a suspected thief was lynched by a mob in Siwan district, the police said Friday.

Chand Quereshi, 25, was thrashed and then brutally attacked with sticks after he was allegedly caught stealing from a house at Purhatola near Jai Prakash Nagar on the outskirts of Siwan town, about 150 km from here. He later died.

'The victim was brutally beaten up for hours late Thursday night by some people, who alleged that he entered a house for stealing. He was handed over to the police early Friday morning and admitted to the government hospital, where he succumbed (to his injuries),' Siwan Superintendent of Police Umesh Kumar told IANS by telephone.

Kumar said the victim was a resident of Saran district.

Two days ago a mob thrashed a youth, Binay Yadav alias Pappu Yadav, and poured acid into his eyes in a village in Purnea district. This incident came a day after a Dalit youth was tortured and beaten to death by a mob in Mallikpura village in Vaishali district, about 50 km from here. He was suspected to have stolen a water pump.

Mob violence in the name of justice is common in rural Bihar. Over three dozen lynching incidents were reported last year and over two dozen cases have been reported in the last four months.

Earlier this week, three suspected criminals were lynched by a mob at Deodatwa village in East Champaran district.

Last month, a backward caste youth, Ashok Sahni, was beaten to death for falling in love with a girl from a different community.

The worst lynching case was reported in September last year when 10 men from the underprivileged Kueri community were beaten to death in Vaishali district on suspicion that they were thieves. Later, a probe found that the men were innocent.