Four suspected cattle thieves were killed in a lynch-mob attack at Uttar Kachhapia village in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali district early yesterday. One of the deceased was identified as Hasan, 30, a resident of the village. Nizam Uddin, officer-in-charge of Charjabbar police station, said five people in a pick-up van entered the village in a bid to steal cow around 3 am. Sensing the presence of the intruders, the villagers chased them and caught four of them.

Later, they gave them a tremendous thrashing, leaving the four dead. On information, police went to the spot and recovered the bodies.

Later, local people also managed to catch the two others from the pick-up van, including its driver, and handed them over to police.