Villagers allegedly thrashed a group of seven men on suspicion they were child lifters in adjoining Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Monday.
Nine villagers were arrested on Monday in connection with the incident, in which the victims were injured, and charged them with attempt to murder, he said.
The incident occurred when a group of seven men had gone to Maheshwar from Indore, around 100km from Indore, to celebrate Friendship Day on Sunday, senior police officer Sunil Kumar Pandey told PTI.
When they were returning in the night, they lost the way and their car reached Bhuvan Talai village, he said.
"When these men were inquiring from the villagers about the route to Indore, someone raised an alarm, saying they belonged to a gang of child lifters.
"A crowd of villagers soon gathered there and started thrashing them," he said.
The official said when a police team reached the spot on getting information about the incident, the villagers threw stones at their vehicle.
Later, the injured persons were admitted to Indore's government-run Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital, the police officer said.
Police said they have identified 12 people who were part of the crowd and arrested nine of them under sections of the Indian Penal Code.
A search was underway for the other accused, he added.
This was the latest in a series of such incidents reported from Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country.
Watch: Land "Taken By Mafia", Farmer Rolls On Floor With Folded Hands Congress' Alka Lamba Accused Of Threatening To Hit Party Worker With Shoe Tribal Man Arrested On Wedding Day Dies In Custody, Family Strips In Protest Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report "Re-Exam Only On Concrete Footing": Supreme Court On NEET-UG Row World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage "NEET-UG Re-Test Only If Sanctity Lost On Large Scale": Supreme Court "Former Weight Of 120 Kg": Doctor Shares How Weight Loss Changed Her Life Experts Develop Breakthrough Anti-Ageing Drug That Extends Lifespan by 25% Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.