Eight members of a nomadic tribe were allegedly thrashed by a mob in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district after rumours that they were child-lifters, the police said on Friday.
According to officials, the incident occurred in the Rajod Nagar area in the district on Thursday, and a video of the same went viral on social media.
On getting information about the incident, the police rushed to the spot, rescued the victims and registered a case against unidentified persons.
Dhar Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Kumar Singh said, "A few fakirs (nomads) from Khargone, Barwani, Manawar and Gandhwani were begging in Rajod Nagar area of the district. During this, the local villagers suspected that they were 'child-lifters', and got into an argument with them. When they confronted this, the locals allegedly attacked and thrashed them.
"After receiving the information about the incident, a team from Rajod police station immediately reached the spot and rescued the victims.
Subsequently, a case was registered on the basis of their statement. The victims were later taken back to their places safely.
"The situation in the area is under control. We have registered a case against unidentified people as the victims are from Barwani and Khargone and did not know anyone here. Efforts to identify the accused on the basis of videos and CCTV footage are on," SP Singh added.
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