Maharashtra Man Thrashed On Suspicion Of Being Child-lifter: Police

A man in his thirties was severely beaten up by a mob on the suspicion of being a child-lifter at Diva in Maharashtra's Thane 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 bit, a girl standing behind him got pushed back 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. During all this, the victim kept pleading with them that he was not a child-lifter as they suspected him to be. But the mob continued to attack him," he said.

After being alerted about the incident, the Mumbra police rushed to the spot and rescued the man from the clutches of the mob. He suffered multiple injuries in the attack and was admitted to a hospital, he added.

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 in this connection so far, sources said.

The police have urged citizens not to fall prey to the rumours linked to child-lifting.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)