AGARTALA: A "mentally unstable" woman was badly beaten up by residents of Rajarbag area at Udaipur in Gomati district on the suspicion of stealing children, making it the third such incident in the state in the last two days.
The police said, "Though no child theft has been reported so far, rumours often lead to serious law and order problems. Rumour-mongering followed by lynching and political attacks and atrocities have become commonplace in the state over the last few years."
The last such killing was reported from Jirania in the eastern part of Agartala on Friday where an unknown person was hacked to death on the suspicion of theft. At least three persons of a family have been arrested in connection with the case.
Two incidents of alleged child thefts surfaced during the weekend in which three persons were heckled and the "mentally unsound" woman was severely beaten up. Later, police rescued the woman and shifted her to a hospital. No arrests have been made so far.
In a separate incident, locals detained three persons at Santirbazar railway station of South Tripura on the suspicion that they were involved in stealing children. Later, police reached the spot and upon interrogation, it turned out that one of the three - a resident of North Tripura - worked at Baikhora as a mason. He, along with two of his friends from Assam, had come to collect their dues from one of his clients on Saturday. After verifying their statements, police escorted them to a train bound for Agartala.
Two days ago, police arrested three persons in connection with the lynching of a suspected thief in Jirania on Friday.
