Jamshedpur/Chatra (Jharkhand), February 16 A woman was among five people who were attacked by villagers over suspicion of child abduction in separate incidents in several districts of Jharkhand, police said.
Two snake charmers from North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal were allegedly held hostage and attacked by residents of Chandanpur village in the Shyamsundarpur police station area in East Singhbhum district on Sunday.
The two snake charmers, who were around 30-35 years old, had come to the villages to demonstrate their snake charming skills on the occasion of Maha Shivratri when they were held hostage by villagers, Shyamsundarpur police station officer-in-charge Sunil Kumar Bhokta told
"The villagers suspected them of being child kidnappers and held them hostage. Some people even attacked them. We received the information and rescued the two. The individuals showed their Aadhaar cards and were identified as Minanur Mandal and Lahul Mandal," he said.
There have been no incidents of child abduction in any part of the Baharagora block in recent times. The victims refused to file any complaints and were sent back to Baharagora town, the police officer said.
"We advised the victims against visiting the villages for now, as the locals might get agitated if they see outsiders due to rumors of child abduction. We will soon hold a meeting with village panchayat representatives to raise awareness about the matter," Bhokta added.
In another incident, a middle-aged man selling honey in a village in the Dumuria police station area of Ghatshila sub-division in the same district was also held hostage by locals on Sunday.
"We reached the spot on time and found the villagers holding a man with long hair hostage on suspicion of being a child kidnapper. The victim said he was a honey seller. We advised the victim against visiting the villages. He refused to file any police complaint," Dumuria police station officer-in-charge Pancham Tigga said.
In another incident, residents of Chiraiyatand and Kichto villages in the Piparwar police station area in Chatra district attacked a man on suspicion of child abduction on Sunday night.
Piparwar police station officer-in-charge Abhay Kumar told PTI that police rescued the man and took him to Bachra Regional Hospital, from where he was transferred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi for better treatment.
"The victim is in a critical condition. We will question him once he recovers. We are investigating the case," Kumar said.
In the fourth incident, a mentally challenged woman was attacked by some people in Pindrajora police station in Bokaro district on suspicion of being a child kidnapper.
Pindrajora police station officer-in-charge Abhishek Ranjan told
"We handed her over to a non-governmental organization for care. She had been held hostage by villagers on suspicion of child abduction. No arrests have been made in this connection," the police officer added.