THREE Thaba-Putsoa men aged between 28 and 33 who allegedly burnt to ashes a fellow villager on suspicion that he had stolen 10 sheep belonging to one of them were on Friday remanded in custody by the Quthing Magistrate’s Court.

According to police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli, the accused on January 23 stormed a cattle post located in Thaba-Putsoa where the victim aged 22 and his companion, 21, were staying.

Mopeli said the three men aged 28, 29, and 33 held the two captive while forcefully interrogating them about the missing livestock.

He said the accused then set the two men on fire and the 22-year-old victim died in the conflagration that followed while his 21-year-old companion suffered severe burn injuries all over the body.

The man is currently recuperating at one of the hospitals in the country.

Investigations that ensued led to the subsequent apprehension of the three accused by the Quthing police.

The body of the burnt man was later exhumed from a shallow grave a short distance from the torched cattle post after police who were searching the place saw a swarm of flies hovering over newly moved earth.

Mopeli said a blanket believed to have belonged to the dead man was also found close to the shallow grave.