Punjab mob attack: A case of murder has been registered against unknown persons.

Highlights 25-year-old convicted of drug dealing was released from jail

Villagers surrounded him, attacked him, cut off hand, foot

Villagers also did not want local hospital to treat him

A young man accused of drug dealing in Bathinda in Punjab was attacked by a mob in his village yesterday that chopped off his hand and sliced his legs. He died in hospital a few hours laterVinod Kumar, 25, had been charged with selling drugs; others in his village forced him to relocate 6-7 months ago. Yesterday, Mr Kumar returned to his village, a group of men attacked him.Eyewitnesses filmed the deadly assault with cellphones."He was facing some cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and had come out of jail only 3-4 days back," said Inspector Jagdish Kumar.Mr Kumar was moved to a local hospital which was surrounded by villagers angry about the assistance being provided to him. The police then moved him to a hospital in Faridkot, 45 km away, where he died of his injuries.A case of murder has been registered against unknown persons.

Villagers said they were angry that the police did not take any action against Mr Kumar when they had complained of him selling drugs.Punjab's drug epidemic was a huge part of the campaign by different parties ahead of the election earlier this year which was won by the Congress. Young men, frustrated with unemployment and with easy access to heroin brought in from Afghanistan and Pakistan along with locally-made opiods or pain-relieving drugs, have turned into addicts in alarming numbers. Once prosperous because of its rich agriculture, Punjab's economic growth has stalled.