In a shocking incident, nearly two thousand people belonging to Chintamani and nearby villages of the Kolar district in Karnataka chased a group of around 50 persons assuming them to be thieves and beat 9 of them with sticks to death on Tuesday. Some more persons, who were seriously injured in the inhuman attack, were admitted to various hospitals.

It was later revealed that all the killed and injured persons were from Chittor and Ananthapuram districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The batch of 50 persons were found moving near a mango garden around 1 pm at Errakota village and the villagers spread the word that thieves were camping in the garden. Soon, 2000 persons of Errakota and surrounding villages formed into several groups and began chasing them.

Villagers said that there was a spate of burglaries in their villages recently and suspected the people to be thieves. Armed with sticks, the villagers chased and captured some of them and beat them to death in the presence of a heavy crowd. When police arrived to stop the mayhem, they were also threatened with dire consequences.