A suspected cattle rustler was lynched by a group of irate villagers in North Dinajpur district on Sunday night after he allegedly fired gunshots at them while trying to escape the area.

A gang of three-four miscreants had entered Kajigach village, under Chopra police station, to allegedly steal cattle on Sunday night. “Soon some villagers got alert about their movement and they gave the gang members a chase. While escaping, one of the miscreants fell into a ditch. As the villagers tried to catch him, he fired at them. This left the villagers irate and they beat him to death,” said a source.

Sachin Makkar, chief of Islampur police district, said: “The body has been recovered. An improvised firearm and one round of live cartridge were recovered from the spot. Searches are on to nab his associates.”