Nalanda/Patna, Jun 28 (PTI): The Director of a Delhi Public School (DPS) branch Devendra Prasad died today after being thrashed by a mob following recovery of the bodies of two students from a ditch in Bihar's Nalanda district.

Prasad succumbed during treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda's Superintendent of Police (SP) Sidharth Mohan Jain told PTI.

A post-mortem was being carried out on the body to ascertain exact cause of the DPS official's death, he said.

TV footage showed that the Director of DPS branch of school located near Nirpur village was mercilessly beaten up with lathis by a mob who held him responsible for the death of two students of the prestigious school.

Some in the crowd mercilessly beat up Prasad with lathis, while some of them kicked him as he lay on the ground with his face down, the officer said.

The badly battered DPS official was taken by a police team led by the DSP (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar to Sadar hospital at Biharsharif where the attending doctors referred him to PMCH at Patna, the SP said.

He said strict action will be taken against the guilty persons.

An FIR was lodged against those people responsible for the assault on the DPS official, Jain said.

Earlier in the day, the bodies of two students, aged around 7-8 years, of the prestigious residential public school were recovered from a waterbody.

Charging the slain DPS official with being responsible for the death of two local students, identified as Ravi Kumar and Sagar Kumar, the villagers attacked the school torching two rooms with LPG cylinders, besides a couple of vehicles.

The mob also targeted some policemen who had arrived there to probe the death of two students and pelted stones on the cops, injuring six including Nalanda police station in-charge Sunil Kumar, the SP said.

Additional policemen were requisitioned from police stations in surrounding areas to bring the situation under control, Jain said.

The mob was initially not letting the cops take custody of the bodies of the students nor allowing them to come to the rescue of the injured DPS official, he said.

Later, police took the bodies for post-mortem, besides rushing Prasad to hospital, the SP said.