Villagers in Bihar cut off a man's tongue and almost beat him to death after he reported electricity thefts to the authorities, police said here on Friday.

Patna: Villagers in Bihar cut off a man's tongue and almost beat him to death after he reported electricity thefts to the authorities, police said here on Friday.

"Half of Pawan’s tongue was cut off," said a Maner police station officer from Khaspur village, where the incident took place.

The victim, 50-year-old electrician Pawan Rai, was apparently beaten up by a group of five men who then cut off a part of his tongue with a sharp weapon. The attackers wanted to punish him for passing information to the local police and electricity office about power thefts in the area.

Pawan was attacked and left outside his house on Wednesday night.

He was found unconscious on Thursday morning by his family and admitted to a private hospital for treatment, said the officer.

According to police, Pawan was initially unable to express himself but after recuperating for a while he was able to describe the attack to them.

The police said that a few days back electricity department officials had raided a few houses in connection with power thefts and arrested Nand Kumar, who had threatened to teach Pawan a lesson.

On Wednesday, Nand Kumar along with Sonu Kumar and Rajnarain had beaten up Pawan, cut off half his tongue, and left him to die, police said. A case was registered but no arrests have been made so far.