Three other youths who sustained serious injuries in the mob attack are battling for life at a government-run hospital in Baripada town, the headquarters of the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district.
Police are investigating the case which took place at Nuadihi village on Sunday night. On a tip-off, they found the injured youths and the bodies of the four men killed by the mob in a forested area near the village on Monday morning.
Police said the seven youths were allegedly fleeing the village after stealing some articles like steel utensils and mosquito nets from a house when the villagers, armed with sticks and iron rods, chased and cornered them in a nearby forest patch and beat them up severely.
The villagers reportedly said they were forced to take the law into their own hands as thefts had gone up in the area and the police had not taken any step to tackle the problem despite complaints. The police have registered a case, however, no one has been arrested so far.
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