'Child-lifter' lynched to death in Tamil Nadu

In yet another incident of mob lynching, a North Indian was beaten to death by a mob suspecting him to be a child lifter in Krishnagiri district on Thursday evening.

Police are yet to trace the identity of the man, who appears to be around 35 years. The gruesome incident happened at Onnalvadi village, around 15 kilometres from Hosur in Krishnagiri district. Thursday's mob lynching was sixth such murder since April this year.

When the cops rushed to the spot, on receiving information, the youth had already slipped into a state of unconsciousness and was found with blood stains all over his body.

"The local villagers, who saw three north Indian youths wandering around aimlessly in their locality, had questioned them. As they did not understand Tamil, the three men attempted to move away without answering. The villagers suspecting them to be child lifters had begun to assault them," police said.

While the two men managed to run away, the villagers caught hold of one person, took him to a school ground nearby, where they tied his hands, kicked and assaulted him with wooden logs until he turned unconscious, police said.

As the youth was found breathing, the Hosur Town police immediately rushed him in a private ambulance to Hosur Government Hospital. However, he died in a short while without responding to treatment.

Villagers, however, told police that they were vigilant after messages were spread in WhatsApp on child lifters lurking around in their neighbourhood. The Hosur police have registered a case and detained five persons from Onnalvadi village in connection with the incident. Further inquiries are on.

This incident is likely to be the third incident of mob justice in the month of May alone in Tamil Nadu. A mob beat to death a man with psychiatric problems near Pulicat in Chennai, while a group of people in Tiruvannamalai district assaulted to death a 65-year-old woman from Chennai. In both the incidents, which happened in May second week, the victims were assumed to be child lifters.

In April, a teenager was stoned to death in Thiruvannamalai and two middle-aged men were killed in Kancheepuram and Vellore in separate incidents suspecting them to be child lifters.