At least seven people have been burned to death by a mob in India's eastern state of Orissa over a pollution dispute, news reports said Saturday. The incident took place at a village in the Ganjam district about 250 kilometres south of state capital Bhubaneshwar late Friday night, the IANS news agency reported. Residents had objected to stone-crushing machinery that polluted the village, and they demanded compensation from the owners. The dispute escalated on Friday when hundreds of villagers attacked the facility and set fire to a room where seven people including four workers were sleeping, state police chief Anup Patnaik told the IANS news agency. The other three victims were owners of the plant, news reports were quoted as saying by DPA.