Indian ex-MP is sentenced to die

By Chris Morris
BBC News, Delhi

Mr Mohan and three other defendants say that they will appeal

A former member of the Indian parliament, Anand Mohan, has been sentenced to death for his role in a mob killing 13 years ago.

Two others have also received the death sentence. All the defendants say they will appeal.

The dead man was a local official in the state of Bihar.

The court decision comes shortly after several recent incidents of lynching in Bihar, one of the most lawless states in the country.

Gang warfare

This was like so many cases in India - a lengthy legal process.

It was back in 1994 that an angry mob was incited to shoot, stone and beat to death a district magistrate named Krishnaiyah.

Bihar's lynching crisis

The attack happened as a crowd was taking part in the funeral of a local politician and mafia leader, who had been killed in gang warfare.

It was a symbol then of the extent of lawlessness in Bihar - and in many parts of the state, not much has changed since.

There has been a series of recent incidents, in which crowds have taken the law into their own hands in a brutal manner.

Ten alleged thieves were lynched last month and on another occasion, three men suspected of stealing motorbikes had their eyes gouged out by local villagers.

The police in Bihar are under-resourced and badly paid and local people say they are forced to protect themselves.

The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, has appealed for people to co-operate with the police, but in some places, law and order has in effect broken down.

Human rights groups say there is an urgent need for police reform. They have described the recent lynchings as nothing but cold-blooded murder.