Odisha village holds kangaroo court to punish child-lifters

Bhubaneswar: In an unwarranted incident of people taking law into their own hand by holding a Kangaroo court to punish suspected accused, residents of Kuladihi village in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Monday brutally thrashed two persons on suspicion of being child-lifters.

According to reports, two middle-aged men came to Kuladihi village under Kaptipada block in the district and allegedly asked two children to go to a nearby market after offering Rs 100 each to them to buy snacks. Seeing the two unidentified men walking suspiciously with the two kids, a group of villagers caught hold of them and started beating them black and blue when the duo gave incoherent statements. Angry over the alleged child-lifting racket, some women from the same village too thrashed the suspects.

On being informed about the incident, Kaptipada police reached the spot and rescued the duo from the clutches of irate villagers. It is yet to be ascertained whether the suspects are actually child-lifters or not. The police has launched an investigation into the incident.

Sources said these two men were earlier this year were let off after a meeting by the residents of Hatimada village in the district where they were spotted roaming suspiciously.

Similar incident was reported in April this year in the district when a group of people from Gangraj village under Kuliana police station limits had thrashed three persons after tying them with a rope suspecting them of being child-lifters and paraded them in the village before handing them over to the police in a critical condition.