Mentally Ill Man Thrashed in MP on Suspicion of Being Child-Lifter

A mentally challenged person was thrashed on suspicion of lifting a child from her mother in Indore.

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

A 30-year-old man was beaten up by some people on suspicion of being a child-lifter in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh, the police said on Thursday, 25 July.

The incident took place in Niranjanpur area in the city on Wednesday and the man, who appeared to be mentally challenged, was later rescued by police and arrested, an official said.

In a purported video of the incident, that went viral on social media, several people were seen beating up a semi-naked person, who was pleading for mercy.

A few people in the crowd could also be heard saying, "Don't beat him, hand him over to the police."

Police Refute Allegations

Some people, who were part of the crowd, alleged that the man opened the door of a car and tried to forcibly take away a minor girl sitting with her mother.

The police probe, however, could not prove the child-lifting allegation against the person.

“We have investigated the case. It was not an attempt of child-lifting,” Lasudiya police station in-charge Santosh Kumar Dudhi told PTI.

He said that the man, identified as Tejram Chauhan, seemed to be mentally challenged and was merely wandering in the area.

"Some people present near a liquor shop raised an alarm, without knowing Chauhan's mental condition, saying that he was trying to take away the child by opening the car door," he said.

He said Chauhan was later rescued and arrested under Criminal Procedure Code Section 151 (preventive arrest).

No legal action was taken against those who were part of the crowd that thrashed him, he said.

"Chauhan has not received any serious injury. Some policemen brought him to the police station after saving him from the crowd," he added.