Two suspected 'kidney thieves' attacked by mob

A mob attacked two persons

in Balaghat district following rumours on social media that 'kidney thieves' were moving around in the area, police said today.

The police, however, reached the spot in time and rescued the two victims, district Superintendent of Police A Jaidevan said.

The incident took place at Nevargaon village yesterday morning.

"For the past 25 days, panic has gripped villagers in Balaghat and surrounding districts owing to social media rumours about a gang of kidney thieves. Villagers are suspicious of anybody coming from outside," Jaidevan told PTI.

"Around 3 AM yesterday, locals caught two men at Nevargaon on the suspicion of being kidney thieves and attacked them. Some people, however, alerted police, which rushed to the spot and rescued the two. They were brought to Kirnapur police station," he said.

 

The duo were identified as Sheikh Rizwan (30) and Prem Singare (32).

The villagers gathered at the police station in the morning and alleged that police were shielding the two men.

The mob tried to snatch away the duo from the police custody, the SP said, adding that the attempt was foiled with the use of mild force to disperse the mob.

Rizwan and Singare were residents of nearby villages in the district, the SP said.

They told police that they were returning from Gondiya in Maharashtra when the petrol in their motorcycle ran out near Nevargaon.

They knocked on the door of a house in the village to seek help, but the locals suspected them to be kidney thieves and attacked them, they said.

Twenty-five persons were arrested in connection with the attack, Jaidevan said.

On the complaint of a villager, the police also registered a case of trespassing against Rizwan and Singare, he said.

Kirnapur police station in-charge Ritesh Pandey said the mob also set fire to the motorcycle of the two men and blocked Balaghat-Gondiya road for three hours.

According to police, similar incidents of outsiders getting attacked have been reported elsewhere in the the area.

Police are going from village to village with loudspeakers mounted on vehicles and asking people not to believe rumours about kidney thieves, the SP said.