Amid attacks on people on suspicion of being thieves, cops

Amid recent incidents of attack on persons in parts of Aurangabad on the suspicion of being thieves, police have appealed to people not to believe in rumours and not to take law into their hands.

"Do not take law into your hands and keep away from spreading rumours, or else strict action would be taken against those found violating the law," Aurangabad Commissioner of Police Chiranjeev Prasad said yesterday.

He urged people not to believe in rumours and immediately contact the police control room if they find anyone suspicious.

Superintendent of Police (Rural), Arti Singh, also urged the people last night not to get panicky.

"There is no proof that gangs of thieves are on the prowl in rural parts of Aurangabad. So villagers should stop spreading rumours and sharing baseless posts on social media," she said.

With a view to curb the spread of rumours, Sub Divisional Magistrate Dr Sandipan Sanap had yesterday announced that the internet services would remain suspended between 7 pm and 2 am. However, that order was later withdrawn.

On June 8, two men were allegedly beaten to death and seven others were injured, one of them critically, after a mob of villagers had attacked them on suspicion of being robbers in Chandgaon village in Vaijapur taluka, police had said.

A Vaijapur police station official had said that some fake messages about the presence of a "gang of robbers" were doing rounds on WhatsApp and the incident was fallout of these rumours.

Yesterday, two men- Vikramnath Lalunath (38) and Mohan Nath Bairaonath (35), both residents of Madhya Pradesh were thrashed by a mob of around 25 villagers near Kasambari Dargah in Padegaon about 8 kms from the city yesterday, police said.

"Both of them earn their living by begging as 'bahurupiya' (who entertain people by assuming different roles). Suspecting them to be thieves or dacoits, the villagers thrashed them for nearly three hours yesterday afternoon," police said.

Finally, the duo was recued and rushed them to the Government Medical College and Hospital, they said.

In a separate incident, a woman who was looking for a house on rent in Avinash Colony of Waluj was also severely beaten up by the villagers on a similar suspicion.

The woman, who is a resident of nearby Ranjangaon village, has been hospitalised, police said.