The policeman can be seen trying to pacify the villagers, many of whom can be heard abusing him

Highlights Three policemen were injured in the attack and were taken to hospital

Video shows a policeman surrounded by a mob carrying huge bamboo sticks

The mob had gathered on the streets outside the police station in Aurai

A group of policemen in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district were held hostage and then thrashed by a mob of angry villagers on Saturday after the bodies of two boys, missing for the past two days, were found in a ditch. Three policemen were injured in the attack and were taken hospital, news agency PTI reported.

Video, shot on a phone camera, shows a policeman with a bloodied nose and in dishevelled uniform, surrounded by a mob carrying huge bamboo sticks. He can be seen trying to pacify the villagers, many of whom can be heard abusing him. They continue thrashing him with the sticks and chase him as he tries to get away.

The mob had gathered on the streets outside the police station in Muzaffarpur district's Aurai, after the bodies were found on Saturday. Upset at the incident, they held the policemen hostage and subsequently thrashed them. They claimed that the boys were beaten to death by unidentified men while the police said it was a case of drowning.

After the attack, the policemen fired multiple rounds in the air to disperse the mob. Additional forces were sent to the village in Muzaffarpur, 71 km from Patna, to bring the situation under control.