Assam youths assaulted near Bengaluru's Nelamangala over child kidnap rumours

Bengaluru: Villagers of Jakkasandra near Nelamangala allegedly assaulted two youths on suspicion of being child kidnappers.

Yeshodha, an eyewitness, said two men came on a motorcycle and allegedly called out to a minor girl who was playing nearby.

Suspecting them to be child kidnappers, she alerted the residents, who caught and assaulted them before calling the police. The villagers had not seen them earlier in the locality.

Hema, a resident, said the girl started screaming after noticing the stranger calling her and was scared even after the police took them away.

"Initially, we called the local police personnel, but they insisted we call the police helpline 112 to report the incident. We contacted the police control room as instructed."

A senior police officer said the men were from Assam and had been working at a local factory in Nelamangala.

Villagers reportedly grew suspicious when they noticed the men watching children playing nearby, and that they were under the influence of alcohol.

The youths tried to ask for an address in Hindi but, as they could not speak Kannada, the communication gap worsened the situation.

"No case has been registered as they refused to file a complaint against the villagers," the officer added.