A leader of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) was beaten to death along with his driver by villagers in Deoghar district, police said Tuesday.
Mukesh Singh was travelling in his car late Monday, when his vehicle was stopped by villagers guarding the Rohini Nawadih village, around 300 km from Ranchi.
Suspecting them to be anti-social elements, the student leader did not stop the car.
The villagers, meanwhile, thought Mukesh Singh was escaping after committing theft, and chased the vehicle, which stopped at a railway crossing.
The villagers thrashed the student leader and his driver. Both died on the spot. The car was set on fire.
The AJSU has demanded an inquiry into the incident.