Three people were beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of lifting cattle in Abhoynagar upazilla of this district.
The lynching took place in the Upazila's Prembag village around 4 a.m on Monday(Jan.13), police sources said.
The dead men were aged between 35 and 45 years but no further details about their identities could be known immediately.
Police, citing the accounts of a few locals, said a few men in the neighboring Gaidgachi village allegedly stole three cattle from the home of one Khorshed Alam and loaded the cattle heads on a pick-up van in the early hours of Monday.
Realizing the incident, Khorshed and his neighbors began screaming for help which eventually led to an announcement of the incident over the village mosque's loudspeaker.
Villagers subsequently set out to chase down the suspects, who entered the neighboring Abhoynagar village to evade them, said OC Tajul.
But the Gaidchari residents caught them at a school field next to the Prembag rail crossing and began beating them up. Two of them died on the spot while the other man was declared dead after being taken to Abhaynagar Upazila Health Complex.
Police recovered the bodies from the spot and seized the vehicle used for the theft, said police. The three cattle were also rescued.