While the Maharashtra police has detained 23 people in connection with the lynching incident in Dhule, in a fresh case in Malegaon, at least four men were beaten unconscious on suspicion of being child lifters, according to News18. The police managed to rescue the victims who are undergoing treatment at a local hospital and are said to be critical. This is the second such incident in 24 hours.

Earlier, in a weekly market in Rainpada, a cluster of tribal hamlets with a population of 2,500, in Dhule district, five men were dragged to the gram panchayat office where angry villagers thrashed them to death over suspicion that they were part of a gang of child lifters.

According to police, rumours that a gang of child lifters was active in the area were doing the rounds both on social media and word of mouth for a few days.

The five men were seen deboarding a state transport bus .When one of them tried to speak to a girl child, the villagers pounced on them. Five people died after being assaulted.

A local journalist, Rajendra Khairnar, has also mentioned of rumours of child kidnappers moving around in Dhule. Fake pictures of children were being circulated on WhatsApp along with messages that the kids were killed after their kidneys were removed.