PATNA: A Dalit man was tied to a tree and beaten to death by some powerful Dalit men in a Bihar village over a monetary row, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday in Dhaneshpur village in Samastipur district, about 80 km from here. The victim was identified as Lakhendra Paswan, 35.

The victim's brother told the police that 10 Dalit men killed Lakhendra Paswan after he asked a neighbour, Shankar Paswan, to return the money owed to him.

'Mob justice' is widespread in rural Bihar. Over three dozen lynching incidents were reported last year and many more may have gone unreported.