Odishatv Bureau

Berhampur: Tension prevailed at Gate Bazar in Berhampur after locals thrashed seven persons suspecting them to be child lifters.

According to sources, six people from Tamil Nadu were initially detained while they were roaming around in Gate Bazar area under Town Police Station on Saturday night.

On finding them suspiciously moving around in the area, the locals caught and later manhandled them after they failed to give any answer owing to language barriers, sources said.

Getting information, police rushed to the spot and rescued all the six persons and admitted them to hospital for primary treatment. Three of them were released after treatment while others are being interrogated, informed Inspector in-charge of Town Police Station, Nihar Ranjan Pradhan.

Police suspects that people are now getting violent following rumours about child lifting gangs doing rounds on social media.

In another incident in the Ganjam district, people of Kusadiha village under Khallikote police limits thrashed a youth suspecting him to be a thief.

According to sources, the youth identified as Rajesh Swain of Khurda district and five others had entered the village last night around with an intention of committing robbery.

Though five of them fled seeing villagers, Swain was caught by locals and was brutally beaten up.

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