A police official who was badly beaten by a mob succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday in Bihar's Vaishali district, police said.
Ajit Kumar was attacked when he and his colleagues intervened during a clash between two communities over the killing of two people in a road accident earlier in the day.
The clash took place in Lalganj when a mob set ablaze the house of the driver-and-owner of an auto-rickshaw after Rajendra Choudhary, 65, and his granddaughter died in a road accident on Tuesday, a police officer said.
Ajit Kumar and his colleagues tried to control the situation, firing repeatedly in the air in a bid to disperse the mob.
But the villagers stoned the police and chased the policemen away. Ajit Kumar was caught by the mob and thrashed.
He was admitted in a serious condition at the Patna Medical College and Hospital where he died, a police official said.
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In view of the tense situation, additional security forces have been deployed in Lalganj.
Taking a serious view of the incident, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed police officials to act against the police officer's killers.