In a shocking incident in Jharkhand, four villagers have been arrested for the mob lynching of an elderly woman suspected of being a child lifter, highlighting the dangers of rumour-mongering and mob violence.
Four persons were arrested for allegedly beating an elderly woman to death in Jharkhand's Gumla district, suspecting her to be a "child lifter", police said on Tuesday.
The incident had occurred on Sunday night in Lagaba village under the Bishunpur police station area, when the 55-year-old woman was beaten with sticks and stones by a group of villagers after a rumour spread that she was a child-lifter, they said.
The accused have been identified as Tetra Oraon (45), Besai Oraon (45), Shivlal Oraon (50) and Etwa Oraon (60). They were arrested on Monday and have been booked under Section 103(2) of the BNS, a police officer said.
"So far, we have arrested the four aforementioned accused in the case. All four have been forwarded to judicial custody after they confessed to their involvement in the alleged lynching. The police are also conducting raids at multiple locations to nab other culprits. Till now we have not established the identity of the victim woman," Officer-in-Charge Arjun Kumar Yadav told PTI.
The body of the victim has been kept in the mortuary at Sadar Hospital after the post-mortem examination, Yadav said.
The victim woman was mentally challenged and had been wandering in the area for the past few days. She was seen near the house of Tetra Oraon that night. As villagers approached her, she started fleeing and was soon caught and beaten by the mob, the OC said.
An FIR has been registered against 10-15 people, he said, adding that it was a clear case of lynching.