Man thrashed on suspicion of being child-lifter in Chhatarpur

Bhopal: A mob of around 50 people thrashed a man suspecting him to be a child-lifter at the Harpalpur railway station of Chhatarpur district on Saturday morning. This is the third such incident in the last three days.

Cops later identified the man as Rakesh Khatiq, who had boarded a train from Chitrakoot to Jhansi.

Dressed in saffron robes, the man had got down at Harpalpur station. Someone mistook him as a child-lifter and started raising an alarm shouting “Baccha chor, baccha chor.” Soon a crowd gathered and started thrashing Khatiq, said police.

A man, who tried to intervene, was also beaten up. However, both were saved by the timely intervention of the cops.

Additional SP, Chhatarpur, Jairaj Kuber said that cases were registered against unidentified persons. Cops are scanning the footage of a CCTV camera that would help identify the people who thrashed Khatiq, he added.

On August 2, a middle-aged man was attacked by a mob in Garoli village of Nowgaon, while a day earlier a mentally unsound woman was beaten up—both on the suspicions of being child-lifters.

In fact, rumours are doing the rounds in all the districts of Bundelkhand leading to a drop in attendance of primary and middle-school classes.

In Tikamgarh, SP Anurag Sujania has issued an appeal asking people not to believe in rumours.

“There is no bachcha chor gang,” said Kuber. He also asked people not stay clear of rumours on social media.

Panna was awash with rumours of ‘Bachcha chor’, too.