The incident occurred a day after the Mankhurd police had arrested another woman for attempting to snatch a four-year-old girl in the same area on Sunday. (Representational Image)The Mumbai Police on Monday resorted to a lathicharge to disperse a mob that had gathered in Mandala area of Mankhurd to attack a woman, suspecting her of being a childlifter.
The incident occurred a day after the Mankhurd police had arrested another woman for attempting to snatch a four-year-old girl in the same area on Sunday. Police are investigating if the attempted kidnapping had led to rumour-mongering, which in turn contributed to the incident on Monday.
Over the past two years, there have been cases across the country of mob lynching triggered by rumours about childlifters. In most cases, the rumours were spread by fake videos circulated on WhatsApp, purportedly showing the presence of “childlifters” in the area. Police are checking if similar videos were circulated prior to Monday’s incident.
“We received a call from Mandala that a woman had been surrounded by locals and was accused of stealing children. A police van reached the spot and rescued her. As the van was leaving, some locals pelted stones, following which police had to resort to a lathicharge.” No one sustained any major injuries,” said a police officer.
Police said an inquiry revealed that the woman was not a childlifter. Sources added that the woman was not fluent in Hindi, and spoke in Bengali. “As of now, we do not know why the woman was targeted. We will be registering an FIR against those who pelted stones at the police van. We are checking if any videos are being circulated about childlifters…” the officer said.
Speaking about the attempted kidnapping on Sunday, ACP Srikant Desai said it had occurred around 10 pm at PMGP Colony area. He said Mohammad Shaikh (32), a scrap dealer, was with his four-year-old daughter when a woman Shehnaz (30), who also resided in Mankhurd, tried to snatch the girl and run away.
After the girl’s father started shouting, residents caught the woman and informed police. The woman was then taken to Mankhurd police station, where a case of kidnapping was filed. An officer said the woman has two sons and was allegedly known to be a substance abuser. “We do not know the motive behind the kidnapping. We are checking if she was under the influence of some intoxicant when the incident occurred,” the officer added.
