The students of Kasturba Residential School have been admitted to a hospital in Triveniganj

Highlights Local boys sneaked into their school, tried to misbehave: Police

They were beaten up by girls in self-defence; boys later thrashed them

3 persons who were allegedly involved in the attack, have been arrested

Thirty-four girls were mercilessly beaten up by a mob in Bihar after they fought off a group of local boys who tried to sexually harass them. The mob had broken into their residential school, said the police, which arrested three people allegedly involved in the attack. Six others are missing.

The girls - all of them 12 to 16 years old - were admitted to a local hospital and 22 of them have now been released, the police said.

The incident was triggered on Saturday by a clash between the girls and local boys in Triveniganj, Saupaul district - 250 km from state capital Patna.

Some of the girls had caught a group of boys sneaking into the Kasturba Residential School, a government institution for girls, and asked them to leave. But when the boys refused and misbehaved, the girls beat them up in self defence, said one of the eyewitnesses at the school.

After nearly two hours, around 5 pm, the boys returned with their parents and relatives and barged into the school, the police said, quoting one of the students.

The mob surrounded the campus and targeted the frightened girls and their teachers. Locals said the school had no security system or guards.

In a complaint to the police, the school principal said despite requests to remain calm, the mob beat up the students and teachers.

"We will not allow anyone to escape punishment as acts like this simply can't be tolerated," district magistrate Baidyanath Yadav said.

After the attack, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav condemned the government in strongest terms. In a series of tweets, Tejashwi Yadav said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has "totally surrendered himself in the hands of goons & Deputy CM is begging mercy to hardened criminals".

Another of his posts - a response to a tweet on the matter - read: "Because CM personally interferes to ensure that rapists & perpetrators gets a free run. In majority cases his party men, law makers and office bearers are the main culprits. If an honest officer tries to catch hold of them, He/she is transferred immediately."