Mentally-ill woman in Assam branded child-lifter, tortured

A mentally retarded woman was tied to a pole and tortured by a village mob, suspecting her to be a childlifter, at Sonitpur in Assam, police said.

The incident took place on Friday night, when the woman was seen roaming around in a village under Thelamara police station in Sonitpur district, Sonitpur Superintendent of Police Prithipal Singh told PTI.

“Some people questioned her. But, she could not reply properly due to her mental condition. This led to suspicion among people that she was a ‘sopadharaa’ (childlifter), and they tied her to a pole to torture her,” Singh said.

However, locals and personnel from the Village Defence Party (VDP) tried to stop the mob and alerted the police immediately, he said.

“Our team reached instantly and saved the woman. She received only minor injuries and was treated at a hospital,” Singh said.

He said that some persons also recorded the incident and shared it on social media.

Meanwhile, Two persons were on Sunday thrashed by locals here on suspicion that they were trying to abduct a child, police said.

However, the duo was rescued and admitted to a hospital, they said.

The incident comes in the backdrop a spate of similar such incidents in several parts of the country when people were either attacked or lynched on suspicion that they were child abductors.