Cuttack: Amid rumours of child-lifting rackets being on the prowl in the state, an unidentified man reportedly jumped into Mahanadi river in bid to save his life. This, after he was attacked by a mob on suspicion he was a child-lifter, Tuesday night.
The man was roaming around Jobra area in the town at night. Locals detained him and beat him up mercilessly. He managed to run away. With the mob hot on his heels, the victim jumped into the Mahanadi. A team of ODRAF personnel acted fast and rescued him. He was admitted him to the SCB-MCH. It appeared that he was mentally unsound, police said.
A day back, DGP RP Sharma had issued an advisory urging people to refrain from rumour-mongering linked to suspected child-lifting gangs being operational in the state. Such incidents have been reported from Rayagada, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Kendrapara, Balasore and Cuttack districts, even as police stressed they had no knowledge of any such rackets in the state.
In Kendrapara district, five youths including a 55-year-old man were thrashed by mobs in Rajnagar, Pattamundai and Derabis blocks Monday.
In another incident, three youths were beaten up. Five members of a Sankirtan group were detained by locals in Soro, Jaleswar, Khaira and Bahanaga blocks in Balasore district. In Cuttack district, two youths were thrashed at Gargara and Kukudanga villages near Salepur. Three persons were beaten up by the people of Gopalpur, Ranpur, Harirajpur and Subarnapur villages near Banki.
Among the victims of mob fury, some were beggars while others were found mentally challenged.
Ambadala police Tuesday arrested 16 persons of Peruguda village in Rayagada district for thrashing two persons on suspicion they were child lifters, May 27.
Police detained three persons of Simulia area in Balasore Monday for stripping and beating up a woman in full public view Sunday, suspecting her to be a child-lifter. The woman was later found to be a mentally challenged.
PNN