Bihar police beating is broadcast

Police are regularly accused of rights abuses (Pic:Prashant Ravi)

Indian police have been filmed joining a mob to punch and kick a man accused of stealing a gold chain.

The man, his hands bound, is shown being tied to a motorbike in the eastern state of Bihar. He then fell off, trapping his legs in its wheels.

The man was beaten by at least one policeman, as well as being dragged several yards down the street.

Correspondents say that the beating highlights the widespread problem of police brutality in India.

'Lost consciousness'

In the video - broadcast on television - the paper-thin suspect is seen wearing only tattered trousers.

His hands are bound behind his back, and he is repeatedly punched in the face and kicked in the stomach, chest and back by a mob on Monday in the eastern city of Bhagalpur.

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"He was dragged for some time and the police constable stopped his bike only when he lost consciousness," Afzal Amanullah, the Bihar home secretary, told a news conference on Tuesday in Patna, the state capital.

"This was an inhuman act and an unfortunate incident of a policeman taking the law into his own hands."

At least two policeman could be seen in the video, and two policemen have been suspended pending an inquiry into the incident.

One of the stations that broadcast the footage - the CNN-IBN television news channel - reported that the victim, Salim, survived the beating but had been seriously injured and was being treated at a clinic in the city.

Correspondents say that there was no word on whether he had been charged with any crime.

Acid case

There have been thousands of incidents of police brutality recorded in India in recent years, and in many cases, the victims are low caste and poor.

It is not the first time that police in Bhagalpur have been accused of abuses.

In 1979 they were accused of blinding 31 alleged criminals by pouring acid into their eyes.

Bihar is considered to be one of India's most lawless states.