A mentally-challenged man was allegedly beaten up by a mob on the suspicion of being a child lifter in a village in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, police said on Saturday. The victim, however, did not suffer injuries in the incident and was saved in time by the police, who later shifted him to a Bilaspur-based government hospital for mentally-challenged people, they said.
Three persons have been arrested in connection with the incident that took place on Friday evening in Khopli village under Utai police station limits, Durg Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said. Some women and children raised suspicion after watching the victim for the first time in the village, following which local villagers started assaulting him, he said.
"As the police were already informed that a man who appeared to be mentally-unstable was roaming the area, a team of cops reached the spot and rescued him," he said.
He was taken to a local hospital, where doctors confirmed that he did not have any injury marks. After that, with the permission of Executive Magistrate, the victim was shifted to Bilaspur's Sendri hospital for mental illness treatment, he said.
A case has been registered in this connection and three residents of Khopli identified as Bhola Chandrakar (37), Vikas Banjare (20) and Karan Narang (30) were arrested for allegedly assaulting him, Pallava said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The incident took place two days after three men dressed like sadhus were beaten up by a mob in the district's Charoda town on Wednesday after people suspected them to be members of a gang involved in abducting children.
As many as 14 persons have been arrested in connection with that incident. Durg police have appealed to people not to react to rumours of child-lifting in a violent way.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks