Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A man seized a one-and-a-half-year-old boy and tried to flee, but residents rescued the child, and the Waluj police averted a lynching after they reached the spot, police said. The incident occurred in the Waluj area at around 4pm on Thursday.
According to police, the boy and his elder sister were playing in their backyard on Ramrai Road when a man picked up the child and attempted to escape. The sister shouted for help, and the boy’s mother ran out and chased the man. Nearby residents rushed in, nabbed the man and rescued the child, while the accused’s accomplice managed to get away.
The crowd tied the man and beat him black and blue, and were about to lynch him before the Waluj police, on receiving information, rushed to the scene and rescued him from the clutches of the crowd.
The police brought the accused to the station. He was in an inebriated condition and gave his name as Karan and his accomplice’s name as Munna. The police later arrested Munna and one more person from the Bajaj Company area. All the arrested are from another state, the police said.
PI Shivcharan Pandhare said there are rumours about a children-stealing gang, but such a gang is not active in the city. Residents should not believe the rumours or take the law into their own hands; they should immediately inform the police if such incidents occur, he said.
