Madhya Pradesh: Woman lynched on suspicion of being child-lifter, 14 arrested

Police said the woman, aged between 25-30 years, was mentally-challenged. Her body, which bore marks of several injuries caused by sharp weapons, was found at a forest department nursery on Friday, police added.

“The woman was homeless and mentally-challenged. She was seen in neighbouring villages over the last few days and people even offered her food. Around 9 pm on Thursday, a few residents of Bhosh village started chasing her after suspecting her of being a child-lifter,” Investigating Officer (IO) Narendra Raghuvanshi told The Indian Express. “The villagers, armed with sticks and axes, first beat her up near a school, then chased her to a hillock and finally near the forest nursery. She was then thrown in a culvert where she died,” the IO added.

Raghuvanshi said the accused, all of them from the 25-50 years age group, have confessed to the crime. They are either labourers or small farmers. The sticks and axes used in the crime have been seized from their homes, he added. The IO said an FIR has been lodged at Morwa Police Station. The 12 arrested were sent to judicial custody Monday while the remaining two will be produced before a court on Tuesday.

SDPO Kripashankar Dwiwedi said rumours of a child-lifting gang in the area have been doing rounds on WhatsApp for a while now.