Police said a WhatsApp rumour had led to panic in the region (Representational)
A 65-year-old woman was beaten to death in Tamil Nadu and her relatives and a driver were seriously wounded when villagers attacked them suspecting they were child traffickers. The police have arrested 23 villagers after the incident in Tiruvanamalai on Wednesday.
"We are investigating who did this. We are analyzing available footage to identify people," said a police officer.
The woman, Rukmini, had come to a temple at the village with two relatives from Malaysia and her driver, from Chennai. The temple is of their family deity, said the police.
Around 10.30 am, when the group was looking for the temple, the woman saw two children playing in the area and gave them chocolates.
A woman watching them accused Rukmini of trying to kidnap the children and raised an alarm. WhatsApp messages had been in circulation warning of kidnappers, the police say.
Within moments, a crowd gathered at the spot and started shouting at the visitors, who managed to drive away. But just half a km away, the car was blocked by a mob that dragged the passengers out and beat them with sticks.
By the time district and police officers arrived, the visitors had been thrashed severely. One officer said there were too many attackers, and they could not be stopped on time. Rukmini died on the spot, according to the police. The others were taken to hospital.
The police said WhatsApp rumours circulating wildly in the region about child traffickers was the cause of the savage attack.
There had been no formal complaints about kidnapping or child trafficking in the district.