Kendrapada: A couple from Madhya Pradesh was allegedly assaulted by a mob on the suspicion of being “child lifters” when they were selling plastic items in a village in Odisha’s Kendrapada district, police said.
Santosh Banjara (48) and his wife Mamata Singh Banjara (45) were selling stationery and plastic items at Nimapur village when the mob allegedly thrashed them, they added.
Sources said the two, stated to be from MP, were locked inside a panchayat office and beaten up by the villagers.
The two were rescued by the police and admitted to a nearby health centre, an officer said. “We are investigating the case. The couple was also being interrogated,” said Padmalaya Pradhan, the inspector in charge of the Pattamundai Sadar police station.
A rumour was doing rounds in villages that “child lifters” were roaming, the police officer said, urging people to contact the police if they find someone suspicious, but not to take the law into their own hands.
