A man suspected of rape and murder was buried alive by villagers in the southern highlands of Bolivia. The 17-year-old was buried in the same grave as the alleged rape victim.

Santos Ramos has been identified as the possible culprit in the rape and murder of 35-year-old Leandra Arias Janco, in a Quechua community near Colquechaca, Bolivia, according to The Associated Press

BBC News reports that more than 200 furious locals seized Ramos and tied him up at the woman's funeral. A reporter for a local radio station told the media that mourners threw him into the open grave, lowered the woman's coffin on top of him, and then filled the grave with earth.

The residents blocked roads into the village to stop police from preventing the incident.

According to Newsmax.com, harsh punishments are common, especially in rural and poor parts of Bolivia where police and authorities are limited. Convicted rapists and thieves in indigenous populations may face lynching, chemical castration, and hand amputation.

Colquechaca is a town with about 5,000 inhabitants, located roughly 207 miles south-east of the Bolivian capital, La Paz.