MOB LYNCHES MAN, INJURES 2 ON SUSPICION OF CHILDLIFTING

BENGALURU: One man was killed and his two friends were injured after a mob attacked them on suspicion of being child-lifters in Bidar district of Karnataka late on Friday night.

Mohammed Azam, a resident of Hyderabad, was travelling to Bidar along with Talha Ismail and Mohammed Salman to visit a friend, Mohammed Bashir, at Handikera village, police said. Bashir had invited them to his native village.

As they entered the village, the three stopped at a shop and were seen distributing chocolates to some children. The locals objected to it, but the men managed to leave after discussions.

As the men were heading back to Hyderabad, locals tried to stop them at Murki village after a resident of Handikera circulated a photo on Whatsapp of the three distributing chocolates to children and claimed they were childlifters, police said.

The car in which they were travelling hit a two-wheeler and fell into a ditch, following which locals reached the spot and began assaulting the men.

The three were rescued and taken to a hospital after the police arrived at the scene and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the mob.

Azam was declared dead while the other two, who suffered injuries, were shifted to Hyderabad for treatment.

Superintendent of police D Devraj said the incident was sparked by a Whatsapp message circulated in a group. “The person who circulated the message, Amar Patil, and the administrator of the group, Manoj Biradar, have been arrested,” he said. “Thirty others involved in the violence have also been arrested.”

Devraj said police nabbed the attackers based on a video recording of the incident being circulated over the internet.