New Delhi ( CNN ) Police in India 's farthest northeastern state of Nagaland have arrested 43 people in connection with the killing of a jail inmate accused of rape . The suspects are being questioned over a range of offenses , including arson , rioting , attempted murder and murder , said L.L . Doungal , the police chief of Nagaland , where the attack occurred Thursday evening . They 're alleged to be among a crowd of thousands of people who stormed a jail in the Dimapur district , and dragged out the suspected rapist before beating him to death in the street . The 35-year-old victim had been accused of raping a local woman last month . `` There were thousands of them . Many of them were students in uniform , '' Doungal said when news of the attack first emerged . The dead man was initially identified as an undocumented Bangladeshi settler , but now police say they still are determining his nationality . `` I am not ruling out that he 's not a Bangladeshi . I am also not denying that he is not an Indian . We are verifying his nationality , '' said G. Akheto Sema , an additional director-general of Nagaland 's police , when asked about local reports suggesting the attacked man was an Indian citizen . Dimapur town remains under a curfew , Sema said , amid growing tensions between native Nagas and Bangladeshi migrants in the district . Thousands of protesters demanding the cancellation of trade permits for Bengali-speaking settlers tore into the prison complex Thursday and pulled out the suspect , Doungal said . Police initially used teargas and bamboo canes to rescue the man , but it did n't work , he said . `` There were students in uniform . So , we had to use minimum force , '' Doungal added . Later , police opened fire , but it was too late to save the suspect . Protesters had planned a public hanging , but the suspect died from injuries in the attack , according to authorities . `` We retrieved his body before it could be hung , '' Doungal said . With English as its official language , Nagaland is located in the extreme northeastern end of India , along the border with Myanmar . Home to about two million people , the state is spread over 16,500 square kilometers , with a relatively high literacy rate of 67 % , compared with other densely populated parts of India . Ethnic tensions are rife in Nagaland and other provinces of the impoverished northeast region . Some local groups want greater autonomy , and there 's general discontent over the alleged neglect of the region by successive central governments . CNN 's Faith Karimi contributed to this report .
several were arrested over public beating of rape suspect in 2007 . A crowd broke into the prison before dragging the 35-year - old victim into the jail . He was accused of murdering a local girl last month .