Patna, Feb. 1: The state's fascination for "instant justice" or "spot judgment" saw a mob lynching a truck driver in Saran district on Sunday after he hit a cyclist who escaped unhurt.

The cleaner, however, was comparatively luckier but is battling for life at Patna Medical College and Hospital after being thrashed. The incident took place at Badlapur near the Chhapra district headquarters. The deceased was identified as Mritunjay Pandey, a resident of Chirand village under the jurisdiction of Doriganj police station.

On Monday morning, a youth was beaten to death after he attacked a girl at Bagaha village in Sitamarhi district. The youth, a member of the Scheduled Caste, had an affair with the girl belonging to a different caste. The deceased, Dinesh Kumar Ram, was enrolled in a Sitamarhi college.

In the past two months, at least six incidents of mob lynching have been reported from different parts of the state. Majority of the incidents was reported from north Bihar districts.

Senior police officers attributed the lynching incidents to immediate reflection of people's anger against the authorities (read the police administration).

Ravindra Kumar Singh, a retired IPS officer, said: "Such incidents indicate the lack of confidence of the masses in the law-enforcing agency. People prefer to eliminate the wrong doers by taking law in their hands than handing them over to the police."

The former officer, known for his no-nonsense attitude, said criminals took advantage of the situation by mixing in the crowd. Police officials should take precautionary measures while dealing with such cases, he added.

D.P. Ojha, a former director-general of police, said: "The law-enforcing agency should restore the confidence of the masses by exhibiting sincerity at the lower level and judicious conduct to check such incidents." He, however, hastened to add that nobody should be allowed to take law in their hands.

Hetukar Jha, a reputable sociologist, said: "The mob that kills a person for some presumed offence without legal authority is fully aware of the violation of law. The mob outrage takes place, when people start following one man and at the same time, lose faith in the existing system. At the same time, they don't want any different point of view giving leeway to the alleged offender."

Sushil Kumar Singh, a Muzaffarpur-based human rights activist, blamed lax policing for the rise in the incidents of mob violence. "Civilians are preferring to punish criminals instantaneously instead of apprising police and awaiting justice. The fear of law has gone, resulting in such incidents."