Accused rapist dragged from prison and killed by Indian mob

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Several thousand people stormed a prison in northeastern India, where they dragged away a man accused of rape and then lynched him, police said Friday.

The mob overpowered security at Dimapur Central Prison in Nagaland on Thursday and seized the rape suspect, whom they also accused of being an illegal migrant from Bangladesh. They pelted him with stones and beat him to death, said police Constable Sunep Aier.

Police said a curfew was imposed in the city after the killing and no other incidents of violence had been reported.

The man had been arrested on suspicion of raping a local woman on Feb. 24.

In recent years, India has seen an outpouring of anger against sexual violence that is pervasive across the country. But Thursday's killing was also likely linked to tensions in Nagaland over an influx of migrants from Bangladesh. Dimapur, the largest city in Nagaland, is 1,660 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of New Delhi.

Several local groups accuse the migrants of taking away their land and jobs and have been protesting in recent weeks.

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