Jharkhand: Mentally-challenged man beaten to death, 6 UP women thrashed over child theft suspicion

A mentally-challenged man was beaten to death, while six women from Uttar Pradesh were thrashed by groups of people in two separate incidents in Jharkhand's Chatra and Bokaro districts, police said on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old man, who was allegedly severely beaten up by some people in Chatra district on suspicion of being a child-lifter, succumbed to his injuries at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on Monday, a police officer said.

The incident took place on Sunday night in the Piparwar police station area, where residents of Chiraiyatand and Kichto villages brutally thrashed the victim.

The man has been identified as Rambali Rajwar, a resident of Barwatoli in Ramgarh police station area of Ramgarh district, they said.

Piparwar police station officer-in-charge Abhay Kumar said, "The victim died during treatment at RIMS in Ranchi on Monday. It is a clear case of mob lynching, and the police have initiated a thorough probe into the matter. Police have intensified efforts to identify those involved in the assault."

An FIR in this regard will be lodged, and the situation will become clearer once the victim's autopsy report is received. So far, no arrest has been made in this case, the officer said.

The victim had gone to the area on Sunday night, after which a group of people thrashed him brutally. As soon as the incident was reported, a team from Piparwar police station rescued him and took him to Bachra Regional Hospital, from where he was shifted to RIMS for better treatment, he added.

Bhuvneshwar Rajwar, the brother of the victim, said his family hails from Barwatoli village in Ramgarh district but currently lives in McCluskieganj in Ranchi district.

He said that his deceased brother was mentally ill, and the family had been keeping him at home.

A day before the incident, he left the house without informing anyone and went to Chiriyatand, where people mistook him for a child-lifter and severely beat him up.

In another incident, six women from Uttar Pradesh were allegedly assaulted by a group of people in Jharkhand's Bokaro district on Monday.

The incident took place near a bridge on the Damodar River in the Gandhi Nagar police station area, when locals spotted a group of women and suspected them of being child-lifters, leading to an assault on them, a police officer said.

"The women had come from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh for medical treatment. Some locals mistakenly assumed them to be child-lifters, resulting in assault and mistreatment," Gandhi Nagar police station in-charge Dhananjay Kumar Singh told PTI.

The victims have been identified as Bindu Devi, Maya Devi, Mala Devi, Sanjana Devi, Nirjana Devi, and Kriti Kumari. After all six were rescued, they were brought to the Mahila police station, he said.

Amid floating of rumours pertaining to child theft, the Bokaro district administration urged people not to pay heed to such kind of misinformation.

As many as 300 social media accounts have been identified for allegedly spreading misleading information, and action is being taken, a senior official said.

"Incidents regarding child theft rumours have surfaced in the district over the past few days. Investigations into the matter have revealed that more than 300 social media accounts are being systematically used to disseminate misleading information in a planned manner," Bokaro Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ajay Nath Jha said.

"I have directed the police administration to take strong legal action against such individuals after verifying these accounts and, if necessary, to arrest them," the DC said.

The DC has appealed to the general public not to believe or forward any news, video, or social media message without verification.