Ranchi, March 2 Two individuals were allegedly assaulted in the districts of Deoghar and Koderma in Jharkhand on Monday, after rumors spread among locals suspecting them to be child kidnappers, police said.
In the Deoghar district, an unidentified 35-year-old man was reportedly apprehended by a group of people from the Sura village under the Patharadda outpost while he was taking a boy in an auto, a senior police official said.
Sarath SDPO Ranjit Lakra told
The victim appears to be from somewhere outside the area, while the child who was allegedly being taken along with him was from the same village.
A proper investigation will be conducted and an FIR will be lodged once the victim's condition stabilizes, as he has not yet disclosed his name or other details, he said.
In the Koderma district, a mentally challenged person was allegedly assaulted by a group of people from the Moriyawan village under the Tilaiya police station area.
Police later rescued the man and sent him to a hospital.
Tilaiya OC Vinay Kumar said, "As soon as we received the information, we reached the spot and rescued the man. The victim is mentally unstable, and so far we have found that he hails from Naresh Nagar."
Meanwhile, the Jamtara district administration on Monday launched an "awareness campaign" to curb rumors regarding child kidnapping.
The campaign was launched by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ravi Anand and SP Rajkumar Mehta during a program.
"This initiative aims to curb the rumors spreading in the district regarding child kidnapping, and to make residents aware not to take the law into their own hands," the DC said.
"If they suspect anyone of being a child kidnapper, they should promptly inform the nearest police station or dial 112 to provide information," the SP added.