In a shocking incident, three people were allegedly beaten to death by locals in Saran’s Baniyapur in Bihar on suspicion of cattle theft on Friday morning.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem, according to an ANI alert, and a police investigation has been initiated into the incident.

Locals caught hold of the three men at around 4:30 am and accused them of trying to steal their cattle, according to an NDTV report.

The locals alleged that the men were moving around with a pick-up van, which already had a cow in it.

After being thrashed up badly, the men were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were declared “brought dead”.

Earlier this month, a suspected cattle thief was lynched to death by a mob in Tripura.

A head constable investigating a land dispute in Padmela village in Rajasthan was beaten to death allegedly by a mob on July 13.

Last month, the death of a Muslim man had taken the nation by a storm after he was lynched by a mob in Jharkhand.

Tabrez Ansari, 22, died in a hospital days after he was brutally thrashed by a mob at Dhatkidih village in Seraikela district on suspicion of stealing a bike.

In December last year, a police inspector died and many were injured after a mob attacked a police station protesting against alleged cow slaughter in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr.

The inspector, identified as Subodh Kumar Singh, was killed after he was hit by a blunt object when the police tried to stop the rampaging mob.

In July last year, a man who was transporting cows from native Kolganv village in Haryana to Ramgarh in Rajasthan was lynched to death by a mob on suspicion of cow smuggling.

In April 2017, Pehlu Khan was beaten to death on suspicion of cow smuggling by vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. Later in November, the same year, cow vigilantes shot dead one Umar, aged around 35, and injured another man in Govindgarh in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling.

In September, last year, the Centre had issued a warning to States, asking them to make the general public aware that mob violence of any kind will invite serious consequences under the law.

However, lynching incidents have been on a rise since the BJP government came to power for the second time.

The Opposition has, numerous times, slammed the government over the rising lynching incidents involving Muslims and Dalits.