Thane, September 30
A man in his thirties was severely beaten up by a mob on the suspicion of being a child-lifter at Diva in this city, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on Thursday afternoon and the victim, Pintu Nissar, was rescued by the police and admitted to a local hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment for multiple injuries, an official said.
“Nissar, who works in a local hotel, was standing by the roadside in Diva when a speeding truck went past him. As he stepped back, a girl standing behind him got pushed and fell down. But when Nissar tried to lift her up, her mother raised an alarm suspecting him to be a child-lifter,” an official of Mumbra police station said.
“Soon, people gathered around him and started beating him up. They thrashed him with whatever they could lay their hands on, including a log of wood and iron rod. The victim kept pleading with them that he was not a child-lifter. But the mob continued to attack him,” the official said.
The Mumbra police intervened and rescued the man.
Senior inspector Ashok Kadlag of Mumbra police station said strict action would be taken against those who were involved in the incident.
However, no case has been registered so far, sources said.
The police have urged citizens to not fall prey to the rumours linked to child-lifting.