A mob beat to death an elderly couple accused of witchcraft in eastern India.

Three people have been arrested over the lynching, police said.

The couple, in their late sixties, had been suspected of using black magic to kill their neighbours in a remote tribal district of Jharkhand state.

It is the second such killing in the region in two weeks.

After rumours spread that the couple had killed four people with witchcraft, the mob set upon them, beating them to death and burning down their house.

More than 2,000 people were killed in India on suspicion of witchcraft between 2000 and 2012 (stock image)

'The accused said they killed the couple in revenge to the death of their four relatives, who they believe were killed by the couple using witchcraft,' a local police officer said.

Last week a 60-year-old woman was burnt to death in another village by her neighbour on suspicion of having used black magic to kill a newborn baby. Police arrested the neighbour and charged her murder.

Experts said belief in witchcraft and the occult remains widespread in many tribal and remote areas of India, where incidents of human sacrifices have also been reported.

More than 2,000 people were killed in India on suspicion of witchcraft between 2000 and 2012, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Many of the victims were women.