5 lynched in Maha over rumours of child- lifting
In yet another incident of mob violence, five men were lynched to death on suspicion of being child- lifters in the tribal- dominated Rainpada village of Dhule district in Maharashtra on Sunday. Fifteen accused from the village have been arrested while efforts are on to identify the victims.
The police said that the five victims had been seen getting off a state transport bus and, later, when one of them attempted to strike a conversation with a girl child, it alarmed locals who were present for the weekly “Sunday bazaar”. The locals pounced on the victims, thrashing them on the suspicion that they were childlifters, the police said.
The incident took place around 11.30 am after which the five persons were herded to a room where they were beaten to death with sticks. The victims’ bodies were later taken to the nearby Pimpalner hospital for autopsy.
The police said that the victims could have arrived in Dhule from Solapur and their identities are being ascertained.
According to the police, the area was rife with rumours for the last few days that a gang of child- lifters was active in the region.
Superintendent of police M. Ramkumar said that the residents of Rainpada village — around 250 of them — left the village after the killings.
Maharashtra minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar has appealed to people not to believe in rumours being circulated on social media.
Senior Maharashtra police officers have appealed to the public that there is a need to spread awareness about rumours being spread by mischievous elements to create panic among masses about a group of people trying to commit crimes like kidnapping of children for begging and organ harvesting. All district superintendents of police have been instructed to take precautions to prevent such incidents and zero in on rumour- mongers.
Last month, in a similar incident, a woman fell prey to mob fury at Aurangabad district. She was beaten up by the mob on suspicions that she was a child- lifter. The police had to rescue her.