Palghar: Four persons from Valsad, Gujarat were rescued from a potentially violent situation on Friday morning at Dandi in Palghar district, owing to the presence of mind shown by local villagers and the swift intervention of the police, officials said.
About The Incident
The incident occurred around 10 am at the Dandi bus stop, where the four — reportedly bedsheet sellers — were seen taking photographs of two 13-year-old girls and questioning them about their whereabouts. Alarmed by their behaviour, villagers suspected the men to be part of a child-kidnapping gang, triggering fears reminiscent of the 2020 Palghar mob lynching incident.
A group of villagers gathered at the spot and checked their mobile phones, which allegedly revealed the photographs. The angry villagers then escorted the four individuals to the Dandi Gram Panchayat office for questioning. Officials clarified that the villagers did not assault or manhandle them. Meanwhile, teams from the Satpati police station and the Boisar division rushed to the scene and took the suspects into custody.
Police have registered a case against three persons — including two juveniles and one woman — under Section 78 (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for unauthorised photography and suspicious behaviour towards minors. One person has been arrested, while the juveniles were issued warnings after preliminary inquiry, officials said.
The police release also highlighted that 192 child-related crimes have been registered in Palghar district in 2025 so far. Of these, 182 children have been traced and reunited with their families, while investigations are ongoing in the remaining 10 cases.
“In the majority of cases, children go missing due to domestic disputes or teenage elopements, not organised kidnapping gangs. We appeal to citizens not to believe rumours of child-lifting gangs and not to take the law into their own hands. As seen in Dandi, the correct approach is to immediately inform the police,” the release stated.
Palghar district had witnessed a shocking incident in April 2020 at Gadchinchale village, where three persons, including two sadhus, were lynched by a mob after being falsely suspected of being child kidnappers — a case that drew national attention and underscored the dangers of mob justice.
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